The back-to-school shopping frenzy is underway.
More than half (55%) of consumers started their back-to-class shopping early July this year, according to a National Retail Federation survey. But most shoppers (85%) said they still had at least half of their shopping left to do.
One reason for spacing out spending is the price of school supplies. Back-to-school shoppers have seen prices rise 24% in the past two years, according to consulting firm Deliotte.
Deloitte and the National Retail Federation agree bargain shopping will be key for many consumers this year.
“Consumers are stretching their dollars by comparing prices, considering off-brand or store-brand items, and are more likely to shop at discount stores than last year," said Phil Rist, executive vice president for Prosper, which conducted the survey for the National Retail Federation.
Here are some outlets with back-to-school deals starting this weekend, July 12. Note: many states have Tax-free shopping weekends over the next few weeks. Alabama's starts now. Check for your state's participation here.
Purchases you make through our links may earn us and our publishing partners a commission.
Amazon has back-to-school supplies priced up to 41%-53% off – and a Bunmo 28-piece Prize Box Toys for Kids Classroom kit ($14.99, priced 70% off) – and clothing up to 35% off. You can also shop for school essentials by grade. Amazon Prime members get an additional 20% off their purchase for school supply orders over $50.
Get a $150 Apple Gift Card from Apple's Education Store when you purchase a MacBook Air (prices start at $899), MacBook Pro ($1,199-up) or iMac ($1,249-up), or a $100 gift card when purchasing an iPad ($549-up) or Mac Mini ($499). Apple Education Pricing is available to current and newly accepted university students and their parents, as well as teachers and staff. The deal is good through October 2.
Does your student need a new laptop? Best Buy has MacBooks as low as $749 and up to $400 off select Windows laptops. Select Chromebooks are priced as low as $159 and among other tablets, some Samsung Galaxy tablets are priced $30 to $120 off. Some Microsoft Surface tablets are discounted by up to $300.
Join My Best Buy rewards and get free shipping on your purchases. My Best Buy Plus ($49.99 annual membership) gives you free 2-day shipping, 60-day return window on most products, and exclusive deals. My Best Buy Total ($179.99) adds 24/7 Geek Squad tech support, 20% off repairs, plus protection plans such as AppleCare+.
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Costco has back-to-school discounts on electronics including $40 off Samsung Galaxy and $70 off an Apple 10.2-inch iPad 9th Generation. They also have $200 off a 16-inch touchscreen Lenovo Windows laptop.
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Dollar General has plenty of $1 deals on school supplies including scissors, colored pencils, paper, and folders. There's also an online coupon that will get you $2 off your purchase of $10 or more, through July 22. Additional discounts are available to teachers.
Dollar Tree has online deals on notebooks, composition books and paper, or pencils, sharpeners, crayons and more bargain-priced in bulk, organized by grade level. Parents will be best off shopping in store for bargain-priced school supplies in smaller and individual quantities. Through August 4, customers can donate supplies to the Back-to-School Brigade program, which provides school supplies for military families.
Kohl's has back-to-school clothing on sale, searchable by size and age, including kids' T-shirts under $10 and denim clothing for juniors, teens and tweens $29.99 and under. Plus, small appliances for dorms under $20.
You can take an extra 15% off in store or online with the code YOUR15 (offer ends July 23). You also earn $10 in Kohl's Cash for every $50 spent through July 23 (redeemable July 24-30). Plus, with Kohl's Rewards loyalty program, you get 5% back on all purchases; pay with a Kohl’s Card and get 35% off your first purchase, plus 7.5% back in Kohl’s Rewards.
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Sign up for the JCPenney Rewards loyalty program and on Saturday, July 22 you can claim a coupon giving you $24.99 off any purchase of $25 or more between July 24-July 31. Existing JCPenney Rewards members will get an opt-in email to receive the coupon and new members will get an email with the coupon on Monday, July 24.
Among JCPenney's back to school deals are clothing categorized by $10-under, $15-under and $20-under, plus marked-down backpacks – some at "Black Friday" pricing – and a printable "Dorm Checklist" for shopping discounted towels, bedding, kitchen appliances and more.
Additional back-to-school specials at JCPenney:
Educators and faculty, parents and students can shop the Microsoft Education store to get $400 off on select Surface Laptop 5 models and at least 10% off on other Surface devices. College students can get 50% off Microsoft 365 Personal ($2.99 monthly), which includes Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, Microsoft Defender and 1 terabyte of OneDrive cloud storage. Students and educators at eligible institutions can also sign up for Office 365 Education for free (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, Microsoft Teams and more).
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Sam's Club has supplies under $15 including a $12.98 Back to School Supplies Kit with glue, Sharpies, highlighters pencils and ballpoint and felt tip pins, and erasers. Dorm room deals include oscillating fans starting at less than $50.
Also, July 26 through August 20, you can buy one pair of youth prescription glasses in club – brands include Betsey Johnson, Candie’s, Free Country, London Fog and O’Neill – and get a second pair (up to a $59 value) free.
Staples has school supplies starting as low as 40 cents for products such as glue and 50 cents for crayons, notebooks, pencils, folders and rulers. You can shop by grade level or use a zip code-searchable school supply list so you know exactly what your student needs. (Teachers can upload their lists here, too.)
You'll find a selection of laptops discounted from 3% to 39% off and some discounts on monitors, too.
Save up to an additional 30% off on select items when you order online and pick up in store. Get $15 off your next online order of $60 or more by signing up for emails and texts. Join Staples Rewards for 5% Rewards back on purchases.
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Target has school supplies such as crayons and glue sticks starting at 25 cents, and accessories including lunch boxes starting at $5, water bottles from $6.99 and backpacks at $7.99-up. Most of the retailer's back-to-school deals hit the under $15 mark. Some kids' clothing deals include buy-one-get-one-free. Deals for those headed to college include furniture up to 30% and laptops and other tech up to 30% off.
Shoppers can use Target's School List Assist and College Registry checklists to make shopping easier. College students can get a one-time 20% discount on their shopping trip through the free Target Circle loyalty program (in-store or online, valid student ID required, through Aug. 26). Don't have time to walk the aisles? You can pickup your order as soon as two hours with no minimum purchase and no membership fee required, or get same-day delivery with Shipt in as soon as an hour.
Teachers and school staff can get 20% off with Target Circle, through Aug. 26.
Walmart touts its back-to-school deals as matching the same prices as last year and offering the 14 most popular items on school supply lists for under $13 total – including composition notebooks and Crayola crayons for 50 cents each, also backpacks starting at $6.
There's a "Find Your School Supply List" option at the top of Walmart's back-to-school shopping page, too. In addition to shopping in stores, you can place your order on Walmart.com or the Walmart app for same-day curbside pickup or Express Delivery as soon as an hour. Walmart+ subscribers ($12.95 monthly after 30-day free trial) get free same-day delivery and free two-day shipping among membership perks.
Follow Mike Snider on Twitter: @mikesnider.
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