Parents to spend over £320 on back-to-school shop this year

New research from Nationwide shows that parents are expecting to spend £329 per child on back-to-school items, up £137 (70%) compared to last year.

Nationwide’s research found that a fifth (20%) of families are spending an average of £137 more than last year, with over a third (36%) claiming that social media is driving their children’s demand for trendy new school essentials, underscoring the growing impact of online trends on family budgets.

Social media and ‘haul culture’ is shifting back to school shopping expectations for children, as there are more than 143,000 videos on TikTok for #backtoschoolshopping alone. From viral trends to influencer recommendations, parents can forget notebooks, pencil cases and highlighters like they will remember at school.

PE kits are being swapped for requests for athleisure wear, with almost one in five (17%) requesting the latest leggings, closely followed by requests for bag charms (16%), new phones (14%) and new make-up (10%).

When it comes to the factors influencing these demands, over a third (36%) of parents agree that social media is a key factor, alongside:

• Desire to fit in with their friends – 43%
• Peer pressure – 39%
• Social media platforms i.e. TikTok, Instagram, YouTube – 36%
• Social media influencers – 29%
• Passing trends – 24%

Nine in 10 (90%) parents believe that the cost of back-to-school items is increasing, with essential spend on items such as such as school uniforms (40%) and footwear (22%) taking up a significant share of the spend. However, parents are also being asked to accommodate requests for items such as a new phone, which almost half of parents (45%) consider to be unnecessary.

With young and teen expectations rising, many families are feeling the financial strain.

Over half (56%) of parents admit to feeling pressure to spend beyond their means, as almost a third (28%) revealed that they rely on saving throughout the year and second-hand shopping (16%) to fulfil their children’s back-to-school needs. 1 in 8 (13%) said that they’ve tracked their spending via a digital banking app to make the costs of back-to-school spending more manageable.

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