As the back-to-school shopping season begins, tax rebates will help parents ease the extra expense and stress of purchasing their children's school clothing and supplies. A recent survey by CoolSavings, Inc., a leading online direct marketing and media company, finds that 23% of parents will save or invest some of this money, 41% will use their tax rebates towards general household spending, 45% to pay off debt and 17% for a special purchase (participants could select more than one answer). Additionally, 62% are planning to use the money for current or future educational needs.
"With 93% of families expecting to spend as much or more on school clothes and supplies as last year, the tax rebates arrive just in time," said Matthew Moog, president and CEO of CoolSavings. "Parents tell us they will use that extra money for back-to-school essentials and try to save both time and money by searching for sales."
Price is cited as the most important factor when purchasing back-to-school clothes for 57% of parents, which is reinforced by the fact that 81% said they will shop at discount stores and 67% will try to save money by watching for sales. This year, almost one in three parents will use the Internet to find money-saving offers they can use in the store as well as online.
"Back-to-school is 'crunch-time' for parents: time and money are both being stretched to the limit," Moog said. "The good news is that many retailers have discovered that online offers make it convenient for parents to shop and compare, and are effective in bringing parents into their stores to buy."
And that traffic should pick up in August. With the beginning of the school year just around the corner, retailers should expect to see their sales increase during August, since 73% of parents say they will shop at least two weeks before the first day of school. Only 6% plan to wait until the weekend or the day before school starts.
The survey is part of an ongoing series that CoolSavings conducts on consumer attitudes toward spending and saving, and how costs affect purchase behavior. Consumers visit coolsavings.com to take advantage of valuable savings and information on brand-name stores, products and services.
CoolSavings conducted the online survey between July 3 and July 10, 2003. The survey sample comprises 1,075 unique responders. The margin of error is 3.0%.
Source: CoolSavings press release, July 22, 2003