Back-To-School Sales Increase, Kids Get New Swag

Despite the economy, kids still get to go on hefty shopping sprees for back-to-school stuff.

Tuesday, July 20, 2010 0:19 GMT

According to the National Retail Federation, back-to-school spending is up, and the average American family will drop $606.40 on clothes, shoes, supplies, and electronics to start the school year.

That’s an increase from $548.72 last year, and overall, total spending on children in grades K-12 is expected to reach $21.35 billion.

Here’s the breakdown: The average family of school-aged kids will spend $225.47 on clothing, $181.60 on electronic or computer-related school needs, $102.93 on shoes, and $96.39 on school supplies.

To get the most bang for their buck, 44.3 percent of Americans will buy more store brand or generic products, while 30.3 percent of parents will comparative shop online.

Additionally, teenagers will shell out $31.74 of their own cash on school items, while pre-teens throw $18.27 into the pot.

More than 47 percent of families will begin their shopping three weeks to a month before school starts.