Reading, Writing and Resilience

According to KPMG Consumer Pulse Survey of 1,300+ consumers, survey respondents plan to spend $380 per student on average, up 20 percent from a year ago despite high inflation driving up prices.¹ Most (82 percent) anticipate paying more for items as the inflation rate soared to 9.1 percent² in June. Although ready to pay higher prices, three out of four (75 percent) consumers express concerns over inflation, especially Gen X (77 percent) shoppers and those from lower-income households (78 percent).³

Back to in-store shopping

This year, consumers will conduct a mix of in-store and online shopping for their back-to-school purchases, emphasizing the importance of an omnichannel strategy for retailers.

On their quest for deals and the touch and see experience in stores, 57 percent of shoppers surveyed  plan to do their back-to-school shopping in-store this year,⁴ (up from 51 percent last year). Slightly fewer consumers (43 percent) will be shopping online compared to peak COVID-19 years (49 percent.) While share of online for back-to-school shopping has  decreased by 6 percentage points in 2022 versus 2021, it is a 10-percentage point increase over pre-COVID-19 levels in 2019.⁵

Meanwhile, inventory shortages are a concern for 49 percent of back-to-school shoppers.⁶ Of those, 50 percent plan to shop earlier this year to mitigate the risk, while 46 percent will shop at multiple retailers and 32 percent will spend less or go without items not in stock.⁷

Take a glimpse into our findings. Read the report.

The KPMG Consumer pulse survey series explores key, emerging themes around consumer behaviors, purchasing patterns and the economy. Each survey asks 1,000 U.S. consumers, representing all demographics, timely questions about upcoming purchases and economic conditions. We conduct the surveys to help our clients understand consumers, uncover the signals of permanent change and create basis for transforming their businesses to meet customers where they are.