Back To College Spending Stats

College students and their parents plan to spend $36.6 billion for the return to campus, according to the National Retail Federation. That’s a 3.6% increase over last year's spending, and more than double the NRF's projected $17.6 billion spending for the K-12 back-to-school season. This year's combined spending for back-to-college and K-12 back-to-school will rank second only to holiday spending.

The NRF expects spending on electronics (including flat screen TVs, Xboxes, iPods and notebook computers) to jump 27.5% to $10.46 billion, and spending on dorm furnishings to rise 5.4% to nearly $4 billion. Incoming freshmen will spend the most, averaging $1,112, mostly on electronics and dorm furnishings, and seniors will spend about half that, averaging $558.

Here's a link to some great charts/graphs showing 'who's spending what'.

---
VBRs & HALF-BAKED:

• A virtual shopping list of clients/prospects and categories to approach.
• Opportunity for second-hand stores?
• Close-out sales?
• Perhaps some discounting through Mix Marketplace.
• Malls/Shopping Centers.