(Dayton, OH; August 27, 2001;
PRNewswire) Spending on pencils, binders, notebooks,
and other school products reached $30 billion last year
according to the State of the Industry Report recently
released by the School, Home, and Office Product
Association (SHOPA).
The school products market has grown
at annual rates from six to seven percent since 1997 and
is expected to grow by seven to eight percent in 2002.
Industry experts attribute the trend to several factors
including increase in school enrollment; greater emphasis
on trendier, more fashionable products; rising use of
technology in school-related products; increase in the
number of schools, and an increase in both the number of
teachers and their out-of- pocket spending.
Figures from the U.S. Department of
Education show that overall school enrollment has
increased by 13% from 1990 to 2000, with elementary and
secondary school enrollment up 14% in the same time
period, with more than 68 million students projected to
have enrolled in fall 2000. Additionally, the number of
elementary and secondary schools in the U.S. has
increased by over 7,500, or seven percent, in the same
time period.
These trends contribute to growth in
the school products market, because not only are the
number of buyers/consumers of school supplies increasing,
but the dollar amounts being spent by the end-user is
increasing as well. In 2000, the average household spent
$152.60 for back-to-school supplies, as compared to
$150.80 in 1999, and $142.60 in 1998.
According to SHOPA President Steven
Jacober, ``We are seeing that students want to buy more
upscale products that are differentiated by attributes
like color, patterns and textures, and designs. Likewise,
there appears to more demand for translucent products --
from clear backpacks to florescent colored pens with
see-through plastic casings.''
``Technology also is having a
tremendous impact on the learning environment. We are
seeing more learning software, CD products, and multi-
media learning tools being purchased for the classroom
and in the home,'' Jacober noted.
With more students and more schools,
the number of teachers also increased by over 18% from
1990 to 2000. It is projected that there were 3,252,000
teachers in 2000.
While parents continue to spend more
on back-to-school supplies, it is the amount that
teachers spend out-of-pocket that represents the largest
increase, as many school districts nationally have been
attempting to cut costs in areas such as supplies and
materials. In a study done by the National Education
Association, teachers averaged $408 on out-of-pocket
spending for school and teaching supplies, totaling
approximately $1.3 billion in 2000.
Other Emerging Trends From SHOPA's
Report:
In addition to the growing number of
students, schools and teachers, the market for school and
computer supplies continues to be impacted by several
other emerging trends: year-round schools, homeschooling,
and charter schools.
Year-Round Schools
Enrollment in year-round schools has
grown at an annual rate of 8.39% since the 1994/1995
school year, with a total of 2,875 schools now operating
on a year-round schedule.
Year-round schools are one of the
emerging trends in education that the School, Home, and
Office Products Association (SHOPA) is tracking because
it impacts the purchase of school and office supplies.
The impact is felt in a regional shift in the traditional
back-to-school shopping season.
According to SHOPA's recently released
State of the Industry Report, 80% of the 2,875 year-round
schools in existence are elementary schools, 16%
secondary schools and the remaining 4% other school types
such as vocational, special, adult, etc. Two-thirds of
all year-round schools are represented by three states:
California; Texas; and Arizona.
Charter Schools
In the 1992/1993 school year there
were only two charter schools in the United States. By
the 1999/2000 school year there were approximately 1,484
charter schools open, with over half of those schools
beginning operations in the last three years.
According to SHOPA's recently released
State of the Industry Report, charter schools, which are
defined as state legislated, legally independent,
innovative, and outcome-based public schools, have grown
at a rate of 157% annually.
The factors driving this trend include
an attempt to find better educational approaches, the
ability to tailor education to local situations and the
need for increased accountability in public
education.
A few states hold the majority of
charter schools. Fifty-eight percent of all charter
schools are in five states: Arizona (222 schools);
California (210 schools); Michigan (146 schools); Texas
(168 schools); and Florida (109 schools).
Homeschooling
In the last 20 years the number of
homeschooled children has grown to 1.7 million from just
10,000 in 1980.
Homeschoolers are likely to purchase
products such as teaching aids to assist in their child's
learning process. Sales of traditional product purchases
are hard to capture.
According to SHOPA's State of the
Industry Report, the primary reasons fueling the growth
in home education are the transmission of a distinct set
of beliefs and values to children, close family
relationships, the desire for controlled and positive
peer social interactions, quality academics, alternative
approaches to teaching and learning, and the physical
safety of children.
Homeschoolers are more likely to be
from families with an annual income of $50,000 or more.
They are also likely to have a college education and a
traditional family (working father, stay at home mother).
Homeschoolers tend to be Caucasian and come from large
families with 34% having four or more
children.
Results from SHOPA's 2001
back-to-school research on retailers and consumers will
be available in late November.
Founded in 1991 by a group of industry
executives, the School, Home, and Office Products
Association (SHOPA) is a nonprofit trade association
representing more than 2,100 members. Member companies
include retailers, commercial dealers, contract
stationers, manufacturer's representatives, wholesalers,
distributors, and service companies involved in the
production, distribution, and sale of school supplies and
office products.