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Key stat: Nearly half (49%) of US adults will begin back-to-school shopping by early July, according to a March 2024 survey by LTK.

Beyond the chart:

• We forecast US back-to-school retail sales will grow 3.2% to reach $81.16 billion this year.
• The majority (65.1%) of those sales will take place in physical retail locations. However, ecommerce’s portion of back-to-school sales has risen from 31.5% in 2021 to 34.9% in 2024.
• If the first half of the year is any indication, retailers will need to rely heavily on deals and promotions to secure their share of retail sales. However, they need to make sure they’re also strategically placing them throughout the summer to ensure they’re appealing to the maximum number of consumers.

Use this chart:

• Plan back-to-school merchandising and promotions.
• Demonstrate the importance of early back-to-school marketing.

More like this:

• Off-price stores maintain their appeal as shoppers look to score deals
• Amazon uses smaller sales events to keep consumers spending outside of Prime Day
• 3 key consumer trends impacting shopping behavior in 2024
• Holiday season ecommerce spending hasn’t gotten much earlier, study shows

Methodology: Data is from the May 2024 LTK report titled "Textbook for Success: Back-to-School Shopper Study." 1,100 US adults were surveyed online during March 2024.