Spending on dorm furnishings, electronics drives back-to-college sales

According to NRF's 2007 Consumer Intentions and Actions Survey, students and their parents will spend a combined average of 956.93 on back-to-college merchandise, up from last year's 880.52. Spending on clothing and accessories is expected to jump to 7.41 billion from last year's 5.78 billion. Laptops, digital cameras, along with iPhones and other cell phones, should be big sellers again this year, with students and their parents expected to spend a total of 12.8 billion on electronics.

Other essentials for college students include shoes (2.96 billion) and school supplies such as notebooks, folders and pencils (3.14 billion). Over 15 billion will be spent on textbooks, which are perhaps the only real necessity for college students.

Thanks to trendy in-store promotions and youth-focused merchandise, dorm and apartment furnishings are now becoming increasingly important to students. Spending in this category is expected to reach 5.43 billion, up from last year's 3.82 billion. Young adults aged 18-24 will shell out the most in this category, spending an average of 158.61. 

The large majority (57.2%) of students and their families will be shopping at college bookstores, while others will head to discounters (51.5%), department stores (41.8%), office supply stores (35.6%), clothing stores (34.3%) and electronics stores (20.9%). Nearly one-third of consumers plan to shop online for back-to-college necessities.

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