Back-to-School Winners: Social Media, Mobile And Department Stores

Not only will consumers finally be spending more on back-to-school shopping this year, they'll be doing it in decidedly different ways. A new back-to-school survey from Deloitte reports that 28% of consumers plan to spend more this year than they did last year, and only 17% plan to spend less.

"The overall tone was a little surprising, and very upbeat," Alison Paul, Deloitte's vice chairman and retail sector leader in the U.S., tells Marketing Daily, "with eight out of 10 expecting to spend the same or more. Consumers told us they would buy some more expensive items, including PCs and cell phones, and we believe that is the result of them not having bought those things for two or three seasons."

The study also found evidence that in some ways, families are relaxing some of their financial vigilance, with 58% saying they will buy more items on sale, for example, down from 90% in 2008, and 70% percent in 2009. "But more than two-thirds tell us they will either pay with cash or debit cards, so they are still very conscious of not wanting to overspend," she says.

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