Retail & E-Commerce
Back-to-School Shopping Report 2020
July 2020
Report summary
How parents plan to shop amid a pandemic, recession and deep uncertainty about the future. The results in this report are based on a survey conducted from July 10-12, 2020 with a sample of 540 parents of children ages 5-23. The report also includes results from a survey conducted August 01-03, 2019 with a sample of 587 parents of school-aged children.
Key Takeaways
- Parents are deeply anxious about their children’s education: 86 percent are at least somewhat concerned about their child(ren)’s education in light of the pandemic. That’s a higher share than are concerned about their family’s health, economic, or mental wellbeing.
- Parents feel somewhat more stressed about shopping this year: 43 percent mainly feel stressed and 32 percent feel excited. In 2019, 38 percent said they felt stressed and 40 percent felt excited.
- Despite educational uncertainties and economic turbulence, parents’ back-to-school shopping plans are largely similar to last year. There are certain shifts that retailers should be aware of - such as more projected spending on electronics and less on clothes - but the shifts may be less deep than expected given the significantly altered conditions.
- More plan to shop online: 44 percent of parents say they will do more of their shopping online due to COVID-19, while 26 percent say they will do more shopping 4 at brick-and-mortars.
Methodology
The results in this report are based on a survey conducted from July 10-12, 2020 with a sample of 540 parents of children ages 5-23. The report also includes results from a survey conducted August 01-03, 2019 with a sample of 587 parents of school-aged children.
