SPOKANE, Wash. — Deep discounts are in style this year, and back-to-school shopping is costing families more on just about everything, including their outfit.
It's no secret, your dollar goes further at a thrift store compared to a department store. Rising prices are causing more families to look for alternative ways to save money, that's why more families are turning to shopping second-hand.
"You can get like multiple pairs of pants, multiple shirts and like a pair of shoes for $50, where at like a department store you can get one shirt for $50," said Autumn Hogan, a Spokane junior student.
Hogan is looking for her first day of school outfit for her junior year. She tried shopping at other stores, but most places did not fit her budget. She said having a first day of school outfit sets her school year on the right note.
"You're able to do your best work when you're already confident in how you look. So you can just show kind of more how you feel, how smart you are, stuff like that," Hogan explained.
The National Retail Federation found, households will spend $864 on average on back-to-school this year, up from $697 pre-pandemic in 2019. This is a heavy burden for families, especially those with multiple students. That's why many are turning to thrifting instead.
"Now with inflation and the rising cost of rent, the rising cost of gas, food there, it's really, really hard for the families that we serve, and they are on the brink of homelessness," Debra Raub, Associate Director with Communities in Schools said.
A few years ago, Raub said about 85% of the students they serve were low income, now that number is more than 90% and continuing to go in the wrong direction.
"We've had kids show up to school with plastic bags wrapped around their feet. We've had kids show up to school with duct tape wrapped around their shoes to hold them together a little bit longer," Raub said.
Communities in Schools works to help students stay in school and matriculate to graduation. They are also KREM Cares partner in our Tools 2 Schools initiative. CIS said families are already struggling with the back-to-school list, let alone necessities that are not on the list.
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"The new backpack just gives you that confidence that you need to stay engaged in school," Raub said.
It's not just inflation driving traffic at second-hand stores, but also a trend among teens. Unique and vintage are becoming more and more popular in fashion.
"In my day of back to school shopping, it was, 'you have three looks and you need to fit into one of those looks' and now you can wear whatever you want," said Julie Kimball-Bryant, Store Manager of Global Neighborhood Thrift.
Global Neighborhood Thrift in Spokane has been busy leading up to the start of the school year. Kimball-Bryant said people can find unique styles here, but also support a good cause, something this generation of students are passionate about.
"We run this thrift store as a training ground for recently settled former refugees. It gives them a local reference, on the job training and an opportunity to kind of learn America with other Americans," Kimball-Bryant said.
Back-to-school is all about stepping into the classroom in style, because when you look good, you feel good, and have confidence to learn.
"You kind of want to start with your like, best foot forward. I think of it like if you start school good, you'll kind of have a good year," Hogan said.
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