US back-to-school e-com sales to grow by over 13% this year: eMarketer

19 Jul '21

2 min read

Pic: Shutterstock

Even after last year’s spike, US back-to-school e-commerce sales will grow by another 13.3 per cent this year to $41.26 billion, according to estimates by eMarketer, which anticipates a strong rebound in overall back-to-school sales in 2021 and expects apparel to witness particularly strong growth as many students prepare for a return to in-person classes.

After declining by 4.6 per cent last year, total back-to-school sales will grow by 9.3 per cent in 2021 to reach $95.83 billion. The shift toward online shopping over the past year will continue to push back-to-school sales online.

The company’s estimates align with a May 2021 survey from KPMG, which found that this year’s average back-to-school spending in the United States will be $268 per child among US consumers who plan to buy school supplies, a press release from eMarketer said. That’s up by nearly 9 per cent from similar polling in 2020.

The survey found spending for pre-school and college students will see the largest rise, up by 32 per cent and 13 per cent respectively. High school and middle school students, meanwhile, will see more modest increases in spending, at 4 per cent and 3 per cent respectively.

Another May survey by Shopkick found that 60 per cent of US back-to-school shoppers said most of their budgets will go toward apparel this year, while only 10 per cent expected to spend most on technology.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DS)

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