Early shopping marks the start of 2026’s back-to-class shopping season
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2026 Back-to-School Consumer Trends Webinar
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Students may feel as though they have only just put their pencils down, but families are already preparing for the next school year. And if it seems as though everyone is picking up school supplies even earlier than usual, it’s not just you — more back-to-school shoppers started their shopping by early June than in past years: About one-third of back-to-school shoppers had already started browsing and buying by early June, the highest since NRF first started asking the question in 2018.
While all age groups started shopping a bit earlier this year, younger generations in particular lead the trend. Gen Z and Millennials saw a bigger jump in back-to-school shopping by early June than other age groups.
It might be that these consumers are more prepared at this point than they have been before — 44% had already received school lists as of early June, compared with just 38% who said the same last year.
Whatever the reason, consumers are beginning to gear up for back-to-school and NRF is following along. Stay tuned for our next blog post for insights into how families are shopping sales and managing higher prices.