Back To School Price Trends

Back-to-school shopping is back, though does it ever really go away? We’ve compiled a list of the school supplies that are dropping in price, discovered the best time of year to do your back-to-school shopping, and the best trends in school shopping. Spoiler alert, July is the best time to do your school shopping as prices on school supplies are down 8% from last quarter! 

Check Your Back-To-School Offers

Best time to do back-to-school shopping

Early summer is definitively the best time to start back-to-school shopping. We’ve analyzed the price trends, and most school supplies trend down in price in early summer (July). When comparing July vs. Q1 average price, school supplies are down 8% in price.  

Summer sales are very common, plus retailers haven’t really started their back-to-school events yet, so catch those price drops in early summer and you can beat the trend back up in late summer. 

When does back-to-school shopping start?

Technically, back-to-school shopping never stops or really starts, it always just is, right? But seriously, back-to-school shopping traditionally starts in early August, that’s when most retailers are pushing their inventory. 

As mentioned above, you may want to jump on the shopping train early, as prices on school supplies are typically lower in July than in August, and summer sales are aplenty. 

How to save money on school supplies

School supplies can be pricey, though if you’re shopping in early July like we told you, you can save some money! Here are some great ways to save money on your back-to-school shopping:

1. Shop in July, prices are trending down right now, get the deals before the retailers change their prices
2. Pay attention to the back-to-school sales and deals, which we’ll discuss later but retailers will absolutely have sales events for school supplies
3. Use Fetch! Fetch will have curated back-to-school supplies which will earn you extra points toward gift cards. You can also redeem your existing points and use some gift cards to help pay for your school supplies. 

Back-to-school price trends

Since we’ve got up-to-date price trends*, stay tuned to this blog during the back-to-school shopping season, we’ll update the price changes for each category so you know when you’ll save on supplies! 

ART SUPPLIES – down $0.78

BACKPACK – Up $17.00

BINDERS – Up $0.50

BOOKS – Down $0.16

CALCULATOR – Down $0.43

CALENDAR – Up $1.50

CRAYONS – Down $0.60

ERASER – Down $0.30

FOLDERS – Down $0.25

GLUE – Down $0.11

HIGHLIGHTER – Down $0.40

JOURNAL – Up $1.64

MARKER – Down $1.00

NOTEBOOK – Down $0.87

PAPER – Up $1.00

PEN – Down $0.26

PENCIL – No change

PENCIL CASE – Down $0.30 

PLANNER – Down $0.25

PORTFOLIO – Up $3.00

SCISSOR – No change

STICKY NOTE – Down $0.25

TAPE – No change

*Data is collected by reviewing the past week’s price average for all products within their respective categories. 

Best places to go back-to-school shopping

Target

Target is known for its fun, fashionable items, at a decent price, and school supplies are no exception. Shop online or in-store for a catalog of over 30,000 office and school supplies from brands like Five Star, Crayola, and Yoobi Marvel Supplies. If you download the Target app, you will not only be able to get access to Target Circle offers, but you will also get back 1% on everything you buy. If you have a TargetRed card, you automatically get 5% back!

Amazon

With a click of a button, all your school supplies can be delivered right to your door. Get free shipping with Amazon Prime and choose from over 90,000 different items.

Joann

Maybe not your first thought for back-to-school shopping, but Joann offers weekly coupons, as well as multiple coupons per transaction to save big on back-to-school items like notebooks, markers, glue, construction paper, pens, stickers, and more. Joann also takes care of teachers by offering 15% savings on every order by signing up for the teacher rewards program.

Dollar Store

You will be amazed at the amount of back-to-school supplies you can find at the local dollar store. You can often find pens, paper, calculators, and planners at dollar store locations for a fraction of the price of big chain retailers.

Using Fetch for your back-to-school savings

Don’t forget! Fetch has a great back-to-school selection of offers that will help you earn extra points on your school supplies. Be sure to check the app before you go shopping and make sure you’re buying the right supplies!