If you get annoyed hearing Christmas songs while shopping in October, avoid Target, Walmart, and J.C Penney this summer. These retailers and more are pushing back-to-school sales earlier than ever. Why? They want to beat each other to reaching (and depleting) your family’s back-to-school budget.
Don’t think anyone will bite? While most (48 percent) wait to buy back-to-school supplies three to four weeks before the first day of school, about 31 percent do so two months prior. And we’re not talking about a couple of pencil and notebooks. K-12 families spent an average of $896.90 last year. For college shoppers, the average per family was $1,121.69. Tablets and computers represent the most popular back-to-school products. Apple already launched its back-to-school promotion and it’s not even July yet.
Lands’ End Back-to-School ad, July 2013
