Fears over rising prices — driven in part by President Donald Trump’s tariffs — are convincing some parents to shop early and even consider going into debt for their children’s school supplies.
According to a report from Intuit Credit Karma aimed at parents with school-age children, 39 percent of respondents said they can’t afford their back-to-school shopping this year. In the same survey, 44 percent of respondents said they planned to go into debt to cover the costs of school shopping.
The number of parents who expect to go into debt to afford supplies for their children has risen by 10 percent since last year. When Intuit asked the same question in 2024, only 34 percent of parents reported planning to take on debt.
According to a CNBC price and inflation tracker, the price of many school supply staples has increased since the pandemic.
The cost of backpacks has increased by nearly 30 percent since 2021. Lead pencils and art supplies have increased by 26 percent, and tablets and paper pads by 24 percent.
In other words, if a backpack was $12 around 2021, it’s likely now around $15.60.
In 2021, Amazon sold a 24-pack of Ticonderoga #2 lead pencils for $3.49. That same pack on Amazon today costs $5.49.
Families with children in elementary school are reportedly planning, on average, $858.07 on school supplies this year. That number is a decrease from last year, when parents planned to spend $874.68, according to the National Retail Federation.
The fear of rising prices has already shifted some parents’ buying habits — according to the Intuit survey, more than half — 56 percent — of respondents said they’re already cutting back on nonessential school purchases to save money.
The potential for Trump’s tariffs to drive up prices has driven early back-to-school shopping by parents hoping to save some money, a survey from Coresight Research found. Well over half of the respondents to that survey — 62 percent — said they planned to begin back-to-school shopping before August.
John Mercer, an analyst at Coresight, told CNBC that the early buying was “probably to preempt any price rises.”
He said that retailers haven’t raised prices yet, primarily due to Trump’s pause on tariffs, but he expects that once the pause ends, prices will rise.
“At some point, if tariffs come in, there will be price impacts,” Mercer said, noting that “consumers are right to be concerned.”
The National Retail Foundation shared similar findings — parents are adjusting their buying this year in part due to fears that tariffs and inflation will lighten their wallets beyond what they can bear.
“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, the National Retail Foundation’s vice president of industry and consumer insights, said in a statement.
