Families spending hundreds on back-to-school supplies

It's the time of year when retailers stuff their shelves with products that parents demand for their kids.

No, it's not Christmas — it's back-to-school season. But it doesn't look like it'll to be a jolly one for stores.

According to the National Retail Federation's 2015 Back-to-School Spending Survey, the average family plans to allocate almost $40 less to such materials this year. That brings total spending down from $669.28 to $630.36. Nevada-specific numbers for this shopping season were not available from the Retail Association of Nevada.

Consumers' wallets were apparently worn out after last year's school supply splurging. Total spending is predicted to drop 9 percent from last season but still expected to total $68 billion.

Spending will decrease overall, but an early June poll by the federation also indicated that 29 percent of households planned to spend more this year. Last season 24 percent said the same.

Some families are waiting until a few weeks prior to that to begin their shopping, but at least one is ready to shop and spend.

The Ahmet family will shell out much more cash than before. Angela Ahmet, her husband and their three kids just moved to Summerlin from Miami where their kids have always worn uniforms.

Their new schools don't have this policy, so Ahmet predicts she will spend $500 on new threads for each child.

"Now I have to buy them regular clothes for school," Ahmet said. "I've never done that before."

The retail federation's spending survey has four product categories. Apparel — excluding shoes — was the most expensive with $217.82.

While The Ahmets plan to spend more on regular clothes, other families cope with buying uniforms for their kids.

Jacob Harrison, a 12-year-old who is starting the sixth-grade at Faith Lutheran Middle School & High School, accompanied his mom to Target on Cheyenne Avenue and Tenaya Way on Thursday. Textbooks and pencils were at the top of his list.

His mother, Tracy Harrison, doesn't look forward to paying for his mandatory Polos.

"Oh my gosh, I'll probably spend $300 (on uniforms)," she said.

Cynthia Burr, whose three kids attend Somerset Academy Lone Mountain in Northwest Las Vegas, faces the same issue. Every child gets seven Polo uniforms, running from $10-$15 each.

If she pays $15 for each shirt, she'd pay a maximum of about $315 for seven shirts for each of her kids. Add pants — $100 per child. Then add two pairs of sneakers for everyone — $60 to $100 each. That brings her total spending on clothes to nearly four figures including taxes.

Footwear accounts for $117.56 of the average family's $630.36, the survey said.

Ahmet and Burr get each of her kids one pair of regular sneakers and another for P.E. every year.

Supplies like notebooks and backpacks make up the group with the lowest spending at $97.74.

Burr comes close to that average for each child. She shops at Target, Wal-Mart and Office Depot because of their back-to-school promotions.

"We try and watch the prices to get the deals," Burr said. "But I usually spend about $100 per kid."

Many stores have "buy one, get one get one half off" deals during this season. Target, for example, is offering this discount on backpacks, clothing and basic school supplies.

The survey found that parents are spending slightly less on electronics this year, laying out $197.24. Last year's $212.15 was this category's highest in the survey's 13-year history.

Each mother focused on key items such as supplies and apparel instead of tablets.

In order to save, Tracy Harrison plans to use some of last fall's items for her son.

"(Jacob) had a few things left over last year," she said.

Target spokeswoman Amy Joiner said that the department store chain offers new deals every weekend during back-to-school season through Sept. 1.

"We know families are on a budget and we're making it easy for them to save throughout the season so they can get the most for their back to school dollars," she said in an email. "This year we've timed our promotions to closely reflect how families prepare for back to school, making the sales easier to understand and shop."

But the blizzard of sales and promotions won't last forever — classes in Clark County resume Aug. 24.

Contact May Ortega at mortega@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2908. Find @MayVOrtega on Twitter.