Las Vegas, (KXNT) - With summer coming to a close, students and their families are headed to stores to prepare for the new school year.
The Retail Association of Nevada (RAN) estimates that back-to-school shoppers will spend $481.4 million on clothes, backpacks and school supplies for the upcoming year. Back-to-school shopping is one of the biggest retail periods of the year, second only to the winter holidays.
Campuses across Nevada will begin filling up through August, with Clark County and Washoe County schools starting on August 9 and most colleges, including the University of Nevada campuses in Reno and Las Vegas and the College of Southern Nevada, starting on August 23.
RAN projects $337.8 million will be spent shopping for K-12 students, up 8.9 percent from last year. Electronics are expected to be the largest spending category at $116.2 million. Spending on clothing and accessories is projected to be second at $99.6 million, followed by shoes ($63.3 million) and school supplies ($54.5 million). Nationally, families with students in grades K-12 will spend $37.1 billion, according to a recent survey by the National Retail Federation (NRF), with average spending per household expected to be $848.90, up from $789.49 last year.
With nearly 120,000 students enrolled in public and private colleges throughout Nevada, RAN estimates spending for students heading back to college will reach an estimated $143.6 million. Electronics is expected to be the largest spending category at $36.1 million, followed by dorm and apartment furnishings ($19.3 million), clothing and accessories ($18.7 million) and food ($14.5 million).
Nationwide, the NRF reports spending for college students is projected to reach $71.0 billion, with the average household spending $1,200.32. College spending estimates rose 8.4 percent from last year’s estimate of $1,059.20.