Tertiary students are more inclined to purchase education supplies online rather than bricks-and-mortar retailers, according to a major US study.

 

The National Retail Federation’s (NRF) annual back-to-school/back-to-college survey found BTC shoppers plan to do most of their buying online (45 per cent), followed by department stores (39 per cent), with 29 per cent intending to use office supplies stores.

 

In contrast, shopping for BTS supplies for primary and high school students will be done at department stores (53 per cent), while 31 per cent will use office supplies stores.

 

According to the NRF 2019 back-to-class annual survey, the average BTS spend will be US$696 – up from US$684 last year – and tops the previous record of US$687 set in 2017.

 

Households with college students are expected to spend an average of US$976.78, which is up from last year’s US$942.

 

According to the survey, clothing and accessories will top K-12 families’ expenses, followed by electronics such as computers, calculators and mobile phones, with spend on supplies such as notebooks, pencils, backpacks and lunch boxes put at US$117.49.