Tariffs drive up prices on many school supplies in Utah
Why it matters: Back-to-school is the second-biggest retail event of the year, after the winter holidays.
This season is a stress test for family budgets and a strategic challenge for retailers trying to hold onto value-conscious shoppers.
Catch up quick: New U.S. tariffs on Chinese imports — including backpacks, pens, binders and shoes — kicked in earlier this year, rose sharply, then came back down to levels still historically high.
Zoom in: In its annual back-to-school shopping guide, KSL-TV found prices doubled year to year at some retailers for notebooks and glue sticks, with more big price hikes on rulers and binders.
Smith's Marketplace prices, however stayed the same — or fell — for all items on the sample shopping list.
Meanwhile, a calculator was cheaper this year than last at every store as of last week, driving down the total costs from last year.
Between the lines: Where you shop matters a lot.
Total costs for the same supplies ranged from about $35 to almost $60, depending on where KSL-TV's reporters went.
What they're saying: " Backpacks are one million dollars now just FYI," Deseret News columnist Meg Walter posted on X.
The big picture: 67% of back-to-school shoppers had already started buying for the coming school year as of early June, according to the National Retail Federation's annual survey of nearly 7,600 consumers, released last month.
That's up from 55% last year and the highest since NRF started tracking early shopping in 2018, the group said.
51% of families said they are shopping earlier this year compared with last "out of concern that prices will rise due to tariffs," NRF said.
By the numbers: Nationally, tariffs added about $73 million in taxes on back-to-school items in May and June, according to an analysis of federal data released Sunday by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which opposes Trump's trade war.
The latest: On Monday, Trump extended a deadline another 90 days for China to reach a trade deal or face the same duties the U.S. imposed in April, when tariffs were at their peak, CNBC reported.
What's next: The full impact of tariffs hasn't hit shelves yet — and back-to-school season may be the first test of how much price pressure shoppers will tolerate, according to a Wells Fargo Investment Institute report released Monday.
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