Parents boost back-to-school budgets by nearly 12%, fueling opportunities for a strong retail season

Value and convenience drive market share

The data shows decisive movement toward value-focused retailers. Walmart's popularity surged 22.5 percentage points to reach 77.3% of parents, while Target and Amazon remain in the top three. Together, these three retailers now capture 58% of all top-retailer mentions. Also, dollar stores broke into the top 10 for the first time as a frequently visited retail destination for back-to-school shoppers.

Clothing leads category spending

Clothing and uniforms command the largest share of back-to-school budgets at $189 per child (28% of total spend), followed by electronics at $151 (22%) and home furnishings at $125 (18%). While nearly all parents purchase stationery, accessories, and clothing-creating reliable baseline traffic-higher-ticket categories like electronics and home furnishings represent concentrated opportunities among households with older students. This dynamic reinforces the need for centers that can serve both everyday essentials and specialized, higher-value purchases.

A barbell market emerges

"We're seeing a fundamental restructuring into a barbell market-value-seeking families consolidating at mass merchandisers while affluent households layer on specialty stops," said Naveen Jaggi, President of Retail Advisory Services, JLL. "Centers that anchor on value formats while offering specialty depth can capture both high-volume traffic and high-spending customers. The winners will be landlords who intentionally curate for both ends of this barbell."

Value shoppers average $444 per child and visit just 2-3 stores. Meanwhile, parents' shopping at retailers for electronics and home goods plan to spend $800-$900 per child - nearly double the national average - visiting close to six stores for older and college-bound students.

Younger parents are driving overall growth, with Gen Z planning to spend $671 per child (up 18.5% YOY) and Millennials $549 (up 18.0% YOY). Enclosed mall shoppers spend $613 per child, 25% above average, drawn to specialty options.

Retail real estate implications

JLL's 2026 Back-to-School Survey delivers a clear roadmap for the season ahead and beyond. The summer shopping window has become highly concentrated, making immediate promotional activation critical for capturing peak traffic. Mass merchandisers, dollar stores, and off-price formats are capturing the volume, representing fundamental change in consumer behavior. For landlords, the value shift isn't temporary; it's structural. Leasing strategies should prioritize formats that answer the two factors parents care about most: saving money and completing their list in one place.

About JLL

JLL (NYSE:JLL) is a leading global commercial real estate services and investment management company with annual revenue of $26.1 billion, operations in over 80 countries and a global workforce of more than 113,000 as of March 31, 2026. For over 200 years, clients have trusted JLL, a Fortune 500^® company, to help them confidently buy, build, occupy, manage and invest across a variety of industries and property types, including office, industrial, hotel, multi-family, retail and data center properties. Driven by our purpose to shape the future of real estate for a better world, we help our clients, people and communities SEE A BRIGHTER WAY. Powered by rich global datasets and leading technology capabilities, we provide coordinated, end-to-end delivery of real estate services for a broad range of global clients who represent a wide variety of industries. Through LaSalle Investment Management, we invest for clients on a global basis in both private assets and publicly traded real estate securities. For further information, visit jll.com.