Families prepare for back-to-school shopping ahead of academic year

AIKEN, S.C. (WRDW/WAGT) - From laptops to binders, families with children in elementary through high school plan to spend an average of $890 on back-to-school shopping this year.

That’s around $25 more than last year, according to the National Retail Federation.

Last-minute back-to-school shopping is in full swing.

“We’re getting leftovers that we may have missed when we shopped the other day,” said Dianne Jones.

School shopping gets more expensive every year, especially when it is split into multiple trips.

“We’ve had at least three trips, not counting what other family have bought for us,” said Jones.

We went shopping for a second grader attending North Augusta Elementary School to see how much it would cost.

The total came to more than $80 to get items such as pencils, folders, and crayons.

“It is just like gas. It’s getting more expensive,” said Jones.

Although it can be expensive, supplies are vital to helping kids learn throughout the year.

“They teachers help, too. They get a lot of supplies themselves. So they’ve always got something for somebody,” said Jones.

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