Business & Tech
POLL: Back-to-School Spending Averages in Hundreds of Dollars
Sales are expected to jump this year, according to the National Retail Federation.
The average person with a child in grades kindergarten through 12 is expected to spend $688.62 this year on back-to-school shopping, according to the National Retail Federation's annual survey.
Last year, the survey predicted families would spend $603.63 on back-to-school items.
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Parents surveyed said they would spend the most on clothing, accessories and electronics as the first day approaches -- Aug. 20 in Prince George's County and Aug. 27 in Montgomery County.
The average person with children in grades K-12 will spend $246.10 on clothes, $217.88 on electronics, $129.20 on shoes, and $95.44 on school supplies (e.g., notebooks, pencils and backpacks), according to the National Retail Federation.
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About 6 in 10 people said they would invest in some sort of electronic device, according to the survey, up from 51.9 percent who planned to buy an electronic device last year.
Most public schools in Montgomery and Prince George's Counties don't require electronic devices like tablets and e-readers, but .
Tell us in the comments: Have you started your back-to-school shopping? Are you spending more or less this school season?
Alexandra Scarfone contributed to this report.
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