Retailers should not expect a boost in spending by parents shopping for children's school supplies this season, according to an Ipsos-Reid study released Thursday morning.
The majority of shoppers in B.C. plan to spend less than $300 for all their back-to-school items this year, with the median amount spent remaining at $350—exactly the same spending levels as in 2009.
Catherine Dawson, vice-president at Ipsos-Reid, told BIV Thursday morning, “Our expectation was that with signs of a recovering economy that we’d see an increase this year, but instead we saw completely flat results from last year.”
Spending patterns remain statistically the same as last year. While 14% of respondents said they would likely be spending less on back-to-school supplies this year, 50% said they will maintain their spending level and 26% plan to spend more.
Last year, 16% said they would spend less, 44% would spend the same amount and 27% planned to spend more.
One potential benefit for retailers is that shoppers are not particularly mindful of their budgets. Nearly half (46% this year and 42% last year) have not set a budget and just buy the items that they like or want. About 16% of respondents this year (21% last year) who have a budget rarely stick to it. Less than 40% of those who have a budget generally follow it.
An Ernst & Young study, also released Thursday morning, suggested retailers take greater advantage of the Internet to engage their customers since people are looking at more than the convenience factor when picking a retail outlet.
“Consumers go online to find the best deals and selection, coupons and product information, said Daniel Baer, Ernst & Young’s leader in the Canadian retail and wholesale industry.
“Television has taken a back seat to the Internet and mobile applications. Retailers who embrace these new platforms today will be tomorrow’s winners.”