By Will Novosedlik

Back-to-school shopping is the second-largest buying season of the year. And every year retail data and consumer insights firm Field Agent Canada conducts a study to assess parents’ back-to-school buying habits and concerns.

In a nine-day span (July 17 to 26, 2023), Field Agent Canada surveyed 1,004 parents of students K-12 about their purchase intentions for the 2023/2024 school year. The key take-aways? More spending is expected (48% of parents said they are spending more in 2023). Back-to-school shopping season is getting earlier and earlier (40% said they would be starting earlier). Walmart, Dollarama and Costco are the top three retail destinations for BTS purchases. Brown bags still rule the lunchroom.

So if they are spending more, where is most of their BTS spend going? Top of the list in terms of volume is still basic school supplies like pencils and notebooks. One might think that, in a post-pandemic digital age, electronics purchases would be just as important. But no: while 53% of respondents in last year’s survey said they plan to purchase electronics, that number fell to 35% this year.

While basic school supplies may top the list in terms of volume, footwear (86%) and clothes (83%) top the list of what parents intend to purchase, followed by basic school supplies and food for packed lunches (both at 81%).

As for which physical retail stores will see most of their visits, almost nine out of 10 cited Walmart (86%), Dollarama (67%) and Costco (57%). Staples is in a distant fourth place at 35%, having fallen from 51% in 2022. Most interestingly, only 12 individuals out of the 1,004 respondents said they would not be shopping for BTS in-store.

What about online? About 81% of those same parents said they would be shopping online this year, whether they’re forced to because of out-of-stock items that they need for their child’s supply list or out of pure convenience. Of those, 75% will have their items delivered to their homes while 43% will opt for pickup in-store.

Online, the preferred retailer by far is Amazon (86%), followed distantly by Walmart (39%), Staples (22%) and Costco (16%).

As for food, 88% of respondents say they’ll be packing their kids’ lunches with a menu of fruit (74%), sandwiches (68%), veggies (67%), granola bars (66%) and water (63%). Here, the rank order of preferred retailers flips again, with Walmart (71%) at the top, followed by Costco (61%), Royal Canadian Superstore (50%), No Frills (41%) and Loblaw’s (34%). The sting of inflation was cited as the explanation for Walmart and Costco being at the top.

With 86% of parents saying they will buy clothing and footwear, 40% will make their purchases online, drawing some visits away from the mall. When it comes to electronics, parents said they would buy new phones and plans, but more for themselves (40%) than for their kids (29%).