Customer shopping for school supplies with employee restocking shelves, Target store, Queens, New York.
Altogether, this year's back-to-school spending, including for college students, is expected to reach $38.8 billion, the NRF also found.
Higher prices are partly to blame: Families are now paying more for key back-to-school essentials like backpacks ahead of the new school year.
The must have items of the back-to-school season"Back-to-school hauls have started infiltrating TikTok earlier than I've ever seen it," said Casey Lewis, a social media trend expert and founder of trend newsletter After School.
How to keep back-to-school spending in check
Persons:
Lindsey Nicholson, Happe, WalletHub, I've, Casey Lewis, Lewis
Organizations:
UCG, Intuit Credit Karma, CNBC, Deloitte, Adidas
Locations:
Queens , New York