How stores are helping you save (and spend) your back-to-school dollars 

As the pandemic recedes and prices continue to climb, parents may be nervous about the upcoming back-to-school spending season.

Last year, families spent roughly $32.5 billion on books, clothes and other supplies as kids returned to in-class learning, according to Deloitte market consultants. That’s more than $600 per student. This year, with inflation a concern, “Price and value are key drivers of purchase decisions,” according to analysts at mobile marketing company InMobi.

Major retailers are gearing up accordingly. Utilizing key tools in their arsenals, companies are ready to engage in the competition for consumers’ cash. Here's how they're approaching this shopping season:

How Walmart and Old Navy are approaching back-to-school

At Walmart, “We’ve worked hard to deliver sought-after back-to-school products at the everyday low prices (consumers) expect,” says Ana Arguello, vice president of stationery.

Michelle Wlazlo, chief merchandising officer at JCPenney, says the company is focusing on ensuring consumers get more for their money.

“We know value is more important than ever this year,” she says. “This season, we will have back-to-school deals and doorbusters each week ... (from) early July through late August.”

State tax holidays are coming: Here's when you can get relief on back-to-school supplies

Ouch: Parents ready to send kids back to school, but inflation means high prices.

With a wide portfolio of products and brands, “We have greater flexibility to make pricing decisions and we’re continuously monitoring costs to ensure we’re price competitive,” Wlazlo says. “We are committed to offering apparel, home and core basic products at reasonable prices, delivering value for our customers.”

Old Navy is also focused on keeping prices in check. “This year, we announced our new Price ON-Lock — a commitment to locking prices on the brand’s everyday kids fashion essentials, despite inflationary market pressures,” says the company’s general manager of merchandising Andres Dorronsoro.

“We know our customers are looking for value on quality and (on-trend) styles. This back-to-school season, we’re excited to provide fashionable, durable and affordable pieces to families,” Dorronsoro says.

Back-to-school shopping online

Under growing pressure from online giant Amazon, major retailers are putting special emphasis this year on web strategies.  

“As we’ve seen in the last several quarters with our e-commerce growth, we expect our customers will continue to do more of their back-to-school shopping online,” Arguello says. Walmart, therefore, is aligning its online and in-store strategies, so that all channels will reflect the best deals “no matter how or where our customers want to shop.” 

Old Navy will leverage the functionality of its website to help drive greater convenience.