Thrift is Cool for Back to School

NEW YORK (MainStreet) -- Back-to-school season is the perfect time to take a look at thrift stores. Once seen as dingy, dirty and for the poor, they've come into their own, especially as the economy continues to teeter.

This year shoppers will spend $22.8 billion -- on average, $603.63 a person -- on K-12 supplies and clothes. Combined with college, consumers will spend $68.8 billion this year for back-to-school purchases, according to a National Retail Federation's survey.

One estimate shows thrift stores getting 16% of K-12 back-to-school dollars this year.

While department and discount stores take the bulk of available back-to-school dollars, nontraditional retailers such as thrift and resale shops will also get a good piece of the action.

"Ten to 15 years back, back-to-school used to be only discount and department [stores]. So if you look at how far it's grown, tons of people are going to drugstores, home decors and thrift stores" for their shopping needs, says Kathy Grannis, spokeswoman for the NRF.

"These are great places where parents don't have to spend a lot of money," she adds. "Thanks to the economy and attraction they bring to people who want to shop on a budget, [thrift stores have become] more appealing to all incomes."

Sales at thrift stores for back-to-school items were once too insignificant to be carved out in the NRF's annual survey. The category was added two years ago as a result of the poor economy, Grannis says. In 2009, approximately 11% of shopping dollars were allotted to thrift stores, ranking the category sixth out of nine. According to the same survey last year, 17% of back-to-school dollars went to thrift stores.

Even as the economy has improved this year, the percentage of shoppers making back-to-school purchases at thrift stores dropped only slightly. This year, some 16% of available dollars for K-12 clothes and supplies will be spent at thrift and resale stores, the NRF survey says.

What's even more interesting is that higher-income shoppers are increasingly turning to thrift stores for back-to-school needs.

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