Electronics And Apparel Drove 2016’s Respectable Back-To-School Shopping Push

Back-to-school spending seems to have delivered this year in the U.S., pushed by an nearly insatiable hunger of leggings and laptops. Spending has grown by its fastest rate in four years, according to a Reuters report.

Back-to-school is considered holiday’s warm-up act, so to speak, as it trails only the post-Thanksgiving period for consumer spending.

Driving sales this year has been good weather, which has kept foot traffic up (a challenge in 2014), though parents are increasingly looking only for value, especially millennial parents.

All in, back-to-school sales rose 2 percent in July, compared with 1 percent growth in 2015 and 2014 and a 0.2 percent rise in 2013, according to data from First Data. Current projections have back-to-school 2016 bringing in $75.8 billion this year, up from last year’s $68 billion, according to the National Retail Federation’s annual survey.

“They [younger shoppers] are getting mom to buy more for them, because they are agreeing to shop at these less expensive, lower-priced retailers,” NPD Group Analyst Marshal Cohen said.

Electronics and appliance sales have also been on the rise — the biggest jump in four years, according to First Data. The big sellers this year are tablets and USB drives, particularly when those items are paired with special offers.

Best Buy has been particularly aggressive with those special offers, with coupons for a wide assortment of items, especially those well-suited for college life and dorm rooms.

The boost in foot traffic has also boosted Gap, despite recent troubles, and brought lots of shoppers to lower-priced, fast-fashion outposts, like Old Navy and TJX brands.

“Income rises faster than frugality changes,” one analyst offered as an explanation for why bargain hunting is hard to give up, even in the best of times.