“Back-to-class shopping is one of the most important consumer shopping occasions of the year," says Matthew Shay, President and CEO of the National Retail Federation (NRF).  "Our research for 2023 shows American consumers are eager to jumpstart their back-to-school and college purchases early."

Based on per capita spending estimates from the NRF, Detroit area parents are expected to spend a record $581,744,241 to prepare more than 653,800 children returning to grades K-12. These expenditures will exceed 2022 back-to-school sales by 12.5%

Expenditures to equip K-12 students in the Detroit area will be on:

• Clothing: $213.1 million
• Shoes: $168.2 million
• Supplies: $109.3 million
• Electronics: $91.1 million

In addition to expenditures for K-12,  $1.3 billion is expected to be spent in the Detroit area to prepare college students for their return to campus. This is 27% more than was spent last year. Another record.

The biggest spending categories to equip Detroit area college students in 2023 will include:

• Electronics: $325.2 million
• Dorm/Apartment Furniture: $183.6 million
• Clothing: $175.2 million
• Food Items: $145.7 million

In order to capture the largest portion of this record back-to-class cash, Detroit small business owners will need to fight to keep these dollars local. According to the NRF, a painful majority of shoppers plan to buy online and in department stores.  While only 13-15% of consumers plan to buy locally.

"Our advertising on Detroit radio generates 10-12 quality leads from prospective students every week," says Robert Cahill, Director of Communications at Northwestern Technological Institute in Southfield.

"On average," he says, "22% of these leads will close. This is a bigger return than our television advertising delivers."

Since 1979, the school has been training students for careers in the Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning industry. Currently, Northwestern Tech enrolls 650 students per year into its 45 week, program.

"For 35 years, our marketing strategy was to primarily use advertising on daytime television to target unemployed men," says Mr. Cahill. "This approach really helped build the school."

"By 2015, though, our enrollment had dropped by nearly 40%. That's when we knew we had to try a new approach."  The new strategy would include advertising on Detroit radio.