Deal-hunters on the prowl as back-to-school shopping begins

LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — Parents from across the Las Vegas valley are getting ready for the new school year, preparing to purchase new school supplies and looking for the best deals they can find.

In a study published Thursday from WalletHub, more than 3 in 4 parents believe schools ask them to buy too much during back-to-school season. With fewer than three weeks until Clark County School District students return to class, some parents were shopping for their students Thursday, attempting to save money where they could.

2024 back to school shopping survey v2
2024 back to school shopping survey v2

Source: WalletHub

Tkeyah Moore, a Las Vegas local, said clothes and shoes are the most expensive items on the shopping list ahead of the 2024-2025 school year.

“He grows really, really fast,” Moore said. She was able to find some deals at the Walmart location near Spring Mountain Road and Rainbow Boulevard in southwest Las Vegas near Spring Valley. She added that she was saving more in 2024 than in 2023.

“A lot of stuff in here is actually kind of cheap, to my surprise,” Moore said. “I’m also a student myself. I’m in nursing school.” She said she was able to find 99-cent deals that included colored pencils and similar items.

“For the most part, it’s not as bad as it used to be,” Moore said, her statement in line with a survey from the National Retail Federation saying families with children attending classes in grades ranging from elementary school through high school plan to spend an average of $874.68, approximately $15 less than in 2023, on clothing, shoes, school supplies, and electronics

Despite the NRF’s information, the WalletHub data cited 86% of parents surveyed saying the “cost of education out of control.”

Soon-to-be fifth-grader Noah Yitbarek was picking up some last-minute items, buying four pencil sharpeners with the intent of giving some of them to his friends. Despite the generosity, Yitbarek was confounded by pricing.

“Why are the pencil sharpeners more expensive than the notebooks?” Yitbarek asked aloud.

Parents shopping Thursday cited the use of Chromebooks as a relief in terms of money-saving measures. Those computers, which are widely available both in brick-and-mortar stores and online, are no doubt in demand. The NRF data shows 57% of consumers plan to do their back to school shopping online, although WalletHub’s survey indicates that nearly 1 in 3 parents don’t trust Google to show them the best back-to-school deals.

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