It’s that time of the year again, BACK TO SCHOOL! Where has the summer gone? We’ve really enjoyed our summer, it has been busy and full of traveling, concerts, camping, and of course enjoying all the wonderful events Fort Collins has to offer during the summer months! We hope you have had a good summer, it seems like this time of the year everyone is trying to squeeze in all the last minute summer activities!
As a reminder when driving around town this week be aware of students walking and biking! Poudre School District starts Monday 18th and CSU starts the following week on the 25th.
We have made a resource list here for places to shop and avoid for your back to school shopping! The good news? Many retailers started promotions for one of the biggest shopping periods of the year well over a month ago! And that means stores are throwing absurdly cheap prices — think 17-cent notebooks — and price-matching guarantees at customers in an effort to stay relevant and competitive over three months of back-to-school shopping. Schools are also increasingly asking parents to contribute to classroom supplies by purchasing sanitary products like hand wipes and tissues, which means that the average school-supplies shopping list now includes 18 items, up from 14 a year prior. Mark LoCastro, spokesman for DealNews which tracks price and discount trends across the Web, says it pays to wait. DealNews finds the best prices are still at the end of August, when summer clearance and back-to-school promotions converge. It is best to watch the weekly ads for deals and apps like Coupons.com, CouponSherpa and RetailMeNot which can help you combine these offers with coupons.
Staples is offering a 110% price-match: If a customer finds a product cheaper somewhere else, Staples will match the price plus give the customer back 10% of the difference. And those 17-cent notebooks are part of a list of items at low prices for the entire shopping season. Rulers, glue, paper, colored pencils, erasers, crayons, ballpoint pens and markers are all on sale for a dollar or less through Labor Day.
Walmart has 30% more back-to-school items available online than last year and is reducing prices on 10% more back-to-school items than last year both online and in stores. This month, a price-matching pilot program rolled out store-wide. It allows customers to enter an ID code listed on their in-store receipt at Walmart.com and compare the prices of everything they bought to all advertised prices from that week. If Walmart’s prices were more expensive, it will refund the difference in the form of an e-gift card.
Old Navy, already known for its steep back-to-school promotions, has T-shirts starting at $4 and jeans starting at $8. “We obviously started early,” says Jamie Gersch, vice president of marketing. “And then want to make sure we stay relevant through Labor Day.” The retailer started back-to-school deals in mid-July.
Sears is trying to make shopping more enticing by expanding in-store pickup across both Sears and Kmart stores. Customers can order items on Kmart.com but pick them up at a Sears, and vice versa. Sears customers don’t even have to get out of the car if they opt for in-vehicle pickup for online orders.
Dollar Stores have some of the best deals, says Erin Konrad, a spokesperson for CouponPal.com . She recommends getting supplies like packs of pens and pencils at a spot like Dollar General or Dollar Days–and notes that sometimes these are even cheaper than at big-box stores like Wal-Mart.
Amazon.com is a great option for parents who want to do all their shopping online and have an Amazon Prime membership (which gives you free two-day shipping), says Jon Lal, CEO and founder of BeFrugal.com. A survey from earlier this year by Savings.com found that Amazon tends to have better prices than most retailers for items under $10.
Best Buy offers many back-to-school laptop and electronic deals for buyers. Ong notes that while you can find sometimes better deals on electronics online, Best Buy tends to have low prices and will price-match other local retailers and online sites like Amazon.
Kohl’s is an alternative to department stores, which tend to be pricey options for back-to-school attire. Kohl’s stores offer tons of coupons and often let shoppers use multiple coupons on the same purchase.
In addition here is a list of places to avoid this season!
Office Supply Stores often charge more for school supplies than big-box retailers like Wal-Mart and Target. An online search for a 4-ounce bottle of Elmer’s Washable School Glue, for example, yielded a price of $1 on Staples.com and $1.59 on OfficeDepot.com, while it was just 50 cents at Walmart.com and Target.com. Drugstores and Grocery Stores these days, sell far more than their names imply–and this includes school supplies. But outside of their door-buster deals, these spots are often not the best places to shop, says Ong. “They’re betting on you coming in for one thing like drugs and then leaving with other things,” he says. However, if you’re a member of a store’s rewards program, buying some back-to-school items at these stores might be worth it.
Sources: The new back-to-school: Deeper discounts, longer sales. Hadley Malcolm, USA TODAY. August 11, 2014. Where not to shop for back-to-school deals. Catey Hill, MarketWatch. August 12, 2014.
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