Consumer spending on school supplies could reach $25 billion this year

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WNCN – RALEIGH – Consumers plan to spend more than $20 billion on back-to-school shopping this year, according to numbers from the National Retail Federation.

The actual number is closer to $25 billion, which is down from a peak of more than $30 billion back in 2012.

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Spending for those going back to college is higher than K-12 spending, number show.

The average adult will spend around $900 for books and supplies needed for their college courses. That number is more than the $600 that will be spent by families with younger students. That is also down from a high in 2012.

More than 60 percent of people said they plan to spend the same amount of money as last year, with about 30 percent saying they will spend more.

According to the National Retail Federation, Internet back-to-school shopping has trended up in 2015. Nearly 50 percent of families said they planned to take advantage of online options, a growth of about 15 percent in the last five years.

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