Uncertainty surrounds back to school shopping

With back-to-school plans still undecided in much of the country, parents are unsure what supplies they'll need when classes resume. NBC's Dan Scheneman reports.

(NBC News) — Back to school shopping should be in full swing right now, but the coronavirus pandemic has everyone wondering what school will look like this fall and which supplies will actually be needed.

While it’s not clear if classes will be at home or in classrooms, many parents expect to spend more according to a recent Deloitte Consulting survey.

“We actually saw the spending go up about two percent for a total of $529 per family, which was a little surprising for us we thought it would be down a little bit, given where we were in the spring and given the unemployment,” says Deloitte’s Rod Sides.

Retailers are offering incentives, including steep discounts, curbside pick up and cash back rewards.

Deloitte also found that the sale of pencils, paper and other back-to-school essentials has shifted.

“We saw that the traditional school supplies were in decline by about 12 percent,” Sides says. “And that was really made up for by the amount of hardware that before purchasing computers, et cetera.”

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