Latest news with #KatherineCullen
CNN
5 days ago
- Business
- CNN
It's a back-to-school shopping spree as families rush to beat tariffs
Back-to-school shopping is already under way. And this year's essential: avoiding tariffs. Two-thirds of Americans with school-aged children started shopping for the upcoming school year in July, the earliest on record, according to a new survey from the National Retail Federation. Families, concerned that President Donald Trump's tariffs could drive prices even higher, are looking for deals and pulling back on spending. 'Consumers are being mindful of the potential impacts of tariffs and inflation on back-to-school items, and have turned to early shopping, discount stores and summer sales for savings on school essentials,' said Katherine Cullen, vice president of industry and consumer insights at the NRF, in a statement. Half of back-to-school shoppers say they are hitting stores earlier this year compared to last year specifically because they are worried tariffs will increase prices, the NRF's survey found. Many school essentials like backpacks, clothing, and electronics are imported into the United States. Tariffs on most of America's trading partners are set to rise on August 1, unless they can make a trade deal with the United States before then. On Tuesday, Trump announced a trade agreement with Japan, his sixth such announcement, setting a 15% tariff on Japanese imports. Most countries are operating under a 10% universal tariff, while China faces a 30% tariff until August 12. 'Many shoppers are looking to buy now because of the promotional deals offered by many retailers in July, along with the desire to get ahead of possible price increases and inventory issues from tariff uncertainty,' said Adam Davis, managing director of Wells Fargo retail finance. Not only are Americans shopping earlier for school essentials — they are also pulling back on spending. Shoppers are expected to spend about $858 per family on clothes, school supplies and electronics this year, down 2% from last year, according to the NRF. 'Shoppers are also weighing value and necessity more carefully. We continue to see a trend of trading down — from branded to private-label products — as consumers look to stretch their budgets,' said Davis. With shoppers spending less, retailers are competing for every dollar. Target's back-to-school event advertises savings of 30%, promising to not raises prices on 20 of the most popular school supplies and backpacks. Walmart says 14 of their most popular school supplies cost less than last year. Seventy percent of Walmart shoppers told the company in a survey they plan to spend more time looking for discounts this year. 'We can see retailers maximizing on summer sales to offer discounts and get budget-conscious shoppers in stores, especially with specific promotions and discounts tied to school necessities,' said Davis. Consumers spent $24.1 billion during Amazon's four-day prime event in July, up 30% from the year before, according to data from Adobe. Competitive discounts drove demand, with back-to-school supply sales up a whopping 175%, Adobe said. But price increases from tariffs will catch up with consumers soon, as retailers start to run through the inventory they imported before tariffs took effect, according to John Zoldis, a retail analyst at Quo Vadis Capital, an investment advisory. That should happen this month, he said, with American consumers feeling the impact in about 2 to 4 weeks.
CNN
5 days ago
- Business
- CNN
It's a back-to-school shopping spree as families rush to beat tariffs
Back-to-school shopping is already under way. And this year's essential: avoiding tariffs. Two-thirds of Americans with school-aged children started shopping for the upcoming school year in July, the earliest on record, according to a new survey from the National Retail Federation. Families, concerned that President Donald Trump's tariffs could drive prices even higher, are looking for deals and pulling back on spending. 'Consumers are being mindful of the potential impacts of tariffs and inflation on back-to-school items, and have turned to early shopping, discount stores and summer sales for savings on school essentials,' said Katherine Cullen, vice president of industry and consumer insights at the NRF, in a statement. Half of back-to-school shoppers say they are hitting stores earlier this year compared to last year specifically because they are worried tariffs will increase prices, the NRF's survey found. Many school essentials like backpacks, clothing, and electronics are imported into the United States. Tariffs on most of America's trading partners are set to rise on August 1, unless they can make a trade deal with the United States before then. On Tuesday, Trump announced a trade agreement with Japan, his sixth such announcement, setting a 15% tariff on Japanese imports. Most countries are operating under a 10% universal tariff, while China faces a 30% tariff until August 12. 'Many shoppers are looking to buy now because of the promotional deals offered by many retailers in July, along with the desire to get ahead of possible price increases and inventory issues from tariff uncertainty,' said Adam Davis, managing director of Wells Fargo retail finance. Not only are Americans shopping earlier for school essentials — they are also pulling back on spending. Shoppers are expected to spend about $858 per family on clothes, school supplies and electronics this year, down 2% from last year, according to the NRF. 'Shoppers are also weighing value and necessity more carefully. We continue to see a trend of trading down — from branded to private-label products — as consumers look to stretch their budgets,' said Davis. With shoppers spending less, retailers are competing for every dollar. Target's back-to-school event advertises savings of 30%, promising to not raises prices on 20 of the most popular school supplies and backpacks. Walmart says 14 of their most popular school supplies cost less than last year. Seventy percent of Walmart shoppers told the company in a survey they plan to spend more time looking for discounts this year. 'We can see retailers maximizing on summer sales to offer discounts and get budget-conscious shoppers in stores, especially with specific promotions and discounts tied to school necessities,' said Davis. Consumers spent $24.1 billion during Amazon's four-day prime event in July, up 30% from the year before, according to data from Adobe. Competitive discounts drove demand, with back-to-school supply sales up a whopping 175%, Adobe said. But price increases from tariffs will catch up with consumers soon, as retailers start to run through the inventory they imported before tariffs took effect, according to John Zoldis, a retail analyst at Quo Vadis Capital, an investment advisory. That should happen this month, he said, with American consumers feeling the impact in about 2 to 4 weeks.
USA Today
6 days ago
- Business
- USA Today
Tariffs have worried parents starting back-to-school shopping early
Back-to-school shoppers are worried about the economy and tariffs and starting their shopping early, according to The National Retail Federation. Shoppers are also pulling back on some purchases for back to school. "One of the ways that we know consumers respond to economic stress and uncertainty is that they move up their shopping around key events," whether that is the holidays or the all-important back to school season, said NRF Vice President of Industry and Consumer Insights Katherine Cullen during a media call on Wednesday. That happened in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic, when shoppers were uncertain whether schools would be back to in-person learning. It also happened in June of 2021 with supply chain concerns and again in 2022 with amid worries about inflation. "The reasons consumers start earlier are pretty consistent,'' Cullen said. "They do this because they want to avoid stress. They want to make sure they get items in time, particularly if they're worried about things being in short stock." Consumers are under economic stress Consumer sentiment remains at historical low levels, but consumer finances and net worth remain at near record highs, said Mark Mathews, chief economist and executive director of research at the NRF. There has been discretionary income growth, and wages continue to outpace inflation while unemployment remains historically low, said Mathews. There has also been reasonable job creation, though that is muted in the last few months and gives a cause for concern about where those numbers are headed, he said. Debt also remains incredibly high, said Mathews, but "it remains manageable from a servicing standpoint and lower-income households are a lot more challenged with debt, but overall economy wide, we don't see it. A challenge for consumers is that unlike two to three years ago, households no longer have a significant savings buffer, he said. The bottom 80% of U.S. households have been actively "dis-saving", or spending more than their discretionary income, since 2022, he said. "Consumers just don't have that buffer anymore to be able to deal with higher prices. So if we see incomes become a bit more challenged in the face of price rises, it's going to be problematic for consumers because they just don't have those savings to fall back on," Mathews said. Full effect of tariffs is still to come The full effects of tariffs have not yet hit, said Mathews. There are some price increases in some categories, but not all, he said. "We know retailers are trying their hardest to keep those back-to-school items in particular as low as possible," he said. Mathews also said historically, it takes a long time for tariff price hikes to work their way to the consumer. "One of the reasons for that is a lot of retailers' shelves remain stocked with pre-tariff imports. We know retailers increased imports dramatically at the start of the year," Mathews said. Additionally, some retailers may be "eating some more of those tariffs than expected," he added. But Mathews said that worries him because as businesses absorb tariff costs instead of passing them on to the consumer, that can lead to wage and job cuts, which then affects the economy. Back-to-school shopping has already begun Early-bird back-to-school shopping has already begun and has increased in July. This year, 26% of back-to-school and college shoppers had already started browsing and buying items by early June, according to a study by the NRF with Prosper Insights & Analytics of back-to-school consumer attitudes and expectations. That was up from 22% last year and 17% in 2019. Shoppers often say they like buying early to spread out their budget and to get early deals and promotions. A big change came in July, Cullen said, when 57% of families shopping for grade-school and college-students said they had begun their shopping. That's up from 55% last year. A big concern, shoppers say, are tariffs. Three-quarters or 74% of those surveyed said they are shopping earlier this year because they are worried tariffs will cause prices to go up later this season. "In June, people felt a little bit more worried about their finances and they decided, 'Hey, maybe I'll just buy what I need and then replenish later in the year,' " said Cullen. "That shifted in July when they felt 'No, I need to stock up and save because things might be much more expensive later in the season or later in the year.' " How much are shoppers expecting to spend on back to school items? According to the NRF, the average K-12 shopper is budgeting $858 this year on average per student, down from $875, while those buying for a college student this year are expected to spend $1,326, down from $1,365 last year. And although average spending is expected to be down, total spending is expected to go up as shoppers prioritize essential categories, said Cullen. Overall back-to-school spending is expected to reach $128 billion this year, up 2% from last year, she said. Still, there are categories shoppers will be pulling back on. The biggest is electronics, Cullen said. While they may spend on the core school items like laptops, tablets and even a smartphone, Cullen said some shoppers are holding off on accessories that may seem more discretionary like headphones or speakers or maybe even game consoles. They may be looking for hand-me-downs from family members, she said. Save money: Back-to-school shopping is tax-free in some states with specific dates. See the full 17-state list. How are back to school shoppers spending differently? Here's some other highlights from the NRF's call: Sales Tax Holidays help save money Shoppers may be able to save some money on their back-to-school shopping if their state has a sales-tax holiday. Seventeen states have designated times in July and August when certain items can be purchased tax-free. Betty Lin-Fisher is a consumer reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at blinfisher@ or follow her on X, Facebook or Instagram @blinfisher and @ on Bluesky. Sign up for our free The Daily Money newsletter, which will include consumer news on Fridays, here.
Fibre2Fashion
18-07-2025
- Business
- Fibre2Fashion
Early shopping, tariff concerns drive US back-to-school trends: NRF
Back-to-school shoppers in US are kicking off their purchases earlier than ever in 2025, driven by tariff concerns and a hunt for deals, according to the latest annual survey by the National Retail Federation (NRF) and Prosper Insights & Analytics. As of early July, 67 per cent of shoppers had already begun buying items for the upcoming school year—the highest rate since NRF began tracking early shopping in 2018 and a sharp increase from 55 per cent last year. The early shopping trend is largely influenced by economic uncertainty, with 51 per cent of back-to-school families starting earlier specifically due to fears of price hikes caused by tariffs. Back-to-school shopping in US is starting earlier than ever in 2025, with 67 per cent of shoppers beginning by early July, driven by tariff fears and deal-hunting. While average spending per student is down slightly, total Kâ€'12 and college spending is set to hit $39.4 billion and $88.8 billion, respectively. Online and discount stores remain top channels amid economic caution. Despite the early momentum, 84 per cent of consumers reported having at least half of their shopping still left to complete. The primary reasons for holding off include waiting for better deals (47 per cent), uncertainty about required items (39 per cent), and spreading out budgets over time (24 per cent). Retailer-led summer sales events such as Amazon Prime Day, Walmart Deals and Target Circle Week are playing a pivotal role, with 82 per cent of shoppers timing purchases around these promotions, NRF said in a release. 'Consumers are being mindful of the potential impacts of tariffs and inflation on back-to-school items, and have turned to early shopping, discount stores and summer sales for savings on school essentials. As shoppers look for the best deals on clothes, notebooks and other school-related items, retailers are highly focused on affordability and making the shopping experience as seamless as possible,' said NRF vice president of Industry and Consumer Insights Katherine Cullen . For K–12 students, families expect to spend an average of $858.07 this year—slightly below 2024's $874.68. Nonetheless, increased participation is projected to push total K–12 spending to $39.4 billion, up from $38.8 billion last year. Spending is led by electronics at an average of $295.81 per household ($13.6 billion total), followed by clothing and accessories ($249.36 or $11.4 billion), shoes ($169.13 or $7.8 billion), and school supplies ($143.77 or $6.6 billion). Online remains the top shopping channel (55 per cent), followed by department stores (48 per cent), discount retailers (47 per cent), and clothing stores (41 per cent). College shoppers are also scaling back per-person budgets—$1,325.85 on average, down from $1,364.75 in 2024. However, broader participation means total back-to-college spending is forecast to hit a record $88.8 billion, up from $86.6 billion. 'This increase can largely be attributed to higher income households, while lower income households are pulling back across categories because of economic uncertainty. Regardless of income, families want to ensure their students are set up for success. They are cutting back in other areas, using buy now, pay later or buying used or refurbished items to have everything they need for the school year,' stated Prosper executive vice president of strategy Phil Rist . Online leads again as the most popular shopping channel (48 per cent), while discount stores have grown in appeal (36 per cent, up 5 percentage points), followed by department stores (35 per cent) and college bookstores (27 per cent). The NRF's annual survey, based on responses from 7,581 consumers polled between July 1 and July 7, has a margin of error of ±1.1 percentage points and has tracked back-to-school shopping behaviour since 2003. Fibre2Fashion News Desk (HU)
CBS News
16-07-2025
- Business
- CBS News
Back-to-school shopping season kicks off early, with Americans hoping to dodge tariff impacts
The back-to-school season may seem at least a month away on the calendar, but for a majority of American families, it's already begun. Two-thirds of back-to-school shoppers have already started buying clothing and supplies ahead of the new school year — a 55% increase on the level of early purchases last year. That's according to a new survey from the National Retail Federation (NRF), which indicates that students and their parents are getting an early start on shopping this year, hunting for deals as they navigate economic uncertainty. More than half of consumers surveyed, 51%, cited concerns over tariffs as the reason why they were starting school shopping earlier this year. "Consumers are being mindful of the potential impacts of tariffs and inflation on back-to-school items, and have turned to early shopping, discount stores and summer sales for savings on school essentials," Katherine Cullen, NRF vice president of industry and consumer insights, said in a statement. The price of school supplies and books has already reached an all-time high, data from the Federal Reserve Bank of Saint Louis shows. However, consumers worry that the cost of items could go up even more once the full brunt of President Trump's tariffs take effect. Mr. Trump recently announced on Truth Social that he would place steep tariffs on over 20 countries, starting on Aug. 1. The levies could directly impact the cost of apparel and other back-to-school items like electronics that are imported from abroad. In its report, the NRF predicts families will spend a total of $128.2 billion on supplies this year, up from $125.4 billion last year. The increase, however, reflects an increase in the number of consumers shopping for back-to-school supplies, and not individual spending, which is expected to be lower this year. Families with students in kindergarten through high school plan to spend an average of $858.07 on school-related items this year, down from $874.68 in 2024, according to the study. College students and their parents also plan to spend less this year — an average of $1,325.85, down from $1,364.75 in 2024. Four in five shoppers said they were planning their shopping around July back-to-school sales to maximize their budgets, the NRF report found. With inflation and tariffs top of mind for many consumers, stores are already promoting back-to-school discounts to lure shoppers. "As shoppers look for the best deals on clothes, notebooks and other school-related items, retailers are highly focused on affordability and making the shopping experience as seamless as possible," NRF's Cullen said. Amazon, Target and Walmart are each offering back-to-school summer sales to entice customers. Amazon last week completed its four-day Prime Day event, which offered thousands of deals on everything from backpacks to dorm furnishings to laptops. Walmart on Tuesday announced lower prices on 14 of the most popular back-to-school supplies compared with last year. A survey by the retail giant found that 70% of its customers said they planned to spend more time this year searching for discounts. "Regardless of income, families want to ensure their students are set up for success," said Phil Rist, executive vice president of strategy at analytics firm Prosper, said in a statement. "They are cutting back in other areas, using buy now, pay later or buying used or refurbished items to have everything they need for the school year."
