Back to school is big business. This year, parents and guardians anticipate spending $660 per child on back-to-school purchases.
What will they be buying? Electronics and computer-related items top the list. Next comes lookin’ good (clothing/accessories and shoes) rounding up the top 3 spending categories.
And all of this will put $110.8 billion dollars into the pockets of retailers, with Amazon and big box retailers, like Walmart and Target, coming out winners, as usual.
With inflation running rampant at 8.5%, consumers say they will be doing more comparative shopping online and looking for deals. Yup, I get that. Should be in our blood anyway.
But wait a minute, did I just read the word “shoes”? Yes, you did. What do shoes have to do with learning? Nothing, really – it’s all about style in the journey of self-discovery.
“Style is a way to say who you are without having to speak.”
It has been said that: “Once you hit a certain age, you become permanently unimpressed by a lot of shit”, but that’s not what young people think (yet), as evidenced by the amount of money they’re begging their folks to throw at a combination of leather, textiles, rubber, foam and/or plastic.
“For years, we thought of ourselves as a production-oriented company … we put all our emphasis on designing and manufacturing the product. But now we understand that the most important thing we do is market the product … Nike is a marketing-oriented company, and the product is our most important marketing tool … marketing knits the whole organization together. The design elements and functional characteristics of the product itself are just part of the overall marketing process. We used to think that everything started in the lab. Now we realize that everything spins off the consumer. And while technology is still important, the consumer has to lead innovation. We have to innovate for a specific reason, and that reason comes from the market.” (Phil Knight, Nike CEO)
But, really. Let’s say you are on a budget, which most of us are these days. Here are some great alternatives, all cost less than $100, and, yet, are still stylish, leaving $560 (average back-to-school budget = $660) for you to spend on other essentials.
“Style is not a display of wealth, but an expression of imagination.”
Regardless of what’s on your back-to-school shopping list, I have one word of advice for you: shop local as much as possible. Think about where your money is going. Break that cycle of strictly convenience shopping, which is synonymous with energy-guzzling delivery vehicles and environmentally harmful overpackaging. Do you want this man to receive your hard-earned back-to-school money? Personally, I think his $500 million superyacht answers that question. Let’s turn this ship around.
“Every time you spend money, you are casting a vote for the kind of world you want.”
Now take what you’ve learned and play today’s Back to School Quiz of the Day:
1. Download Quizefy app.
2. 250 free gems will be instantly deposited in your name
3. Start playing immediately for free
4. Have fun and Strut Your Smart!