Kids may not want to hear it, but the back-to-school season has started even earlier than usual this year. According to Office Depot’s Third Annual Back-to-School Survey, 58% of parents are looking forward to the new school year and 2 in 3 teachers report they even miss their classroom during the summer.
In the new survey of 1,000 parents of kids 5-17 and 1,000 K-12 teachers, 66% of parents are anticipating this school year will be better than last year, yet half of parents remain concerned about being able to afford the school supplies they would like to buy for their children.
The survey also found that 39% of parents planned to start back-to-school shopping before July. On average, parents say they set aside $225 with 5% of parents planning to shop online only and 95% to shop both online and in stores.
Teachers on the other hand said they plan to spend about $320 of their own money to set up their classrooms for the 2023-2024 school year.
This year, teachers said their classroom’s priority needs are basic supplies like notebooks and pencils (37%) and organization and storage solutions (23%).
“While it seems like summer break has just started, the reality is that parents and teachers are already looking forward to and planning for the next school year,” said Kevin Moffitt, president of Office Depot. “Starting back-to-school shopping earlier means more time to find the right products at the right prices. And parents clearly see the value of shopping in stores so they can interact with products and get the support they need from in-store associates.”
The survey found that the average teacher thinks about the upcoming school year eight times during summer break, with 45% sharing that it comes to mind even more often. And more than a quarter are still in “education mode” during the summer, saying that part of their break will be dedicated to planning and decorating their classroom for next year (27%) and recertifying their educator credentials (22%).
Teachers said that they can’t wait to help a new set of students learn and grow (47%) and find new and creative ways to teach material (39%) during the 2023-2024 school year.
“It’s important to support teachers and set them up for success by offering them programs, creative solutions and ways to save, to help them inspire their students and unlock their full potential,” said Moffitt.
