Parents and students are poised to spend more on back-to-school shopping than ever before despite uncertainty about schools reopening

• The National Retail Federation is predicting that back-to-school shoppers will spend more than ever this year.
• However, uncertainty around whether school will happen in person is affecting what they are choosing to buy.
• Overall, shoppers are expecting to do more online shopping as the coronavirus pandemic continues to be a threat.

The back-to-school shopping season is typically one of the biggest for retailers.

And, despite uncertainty around whether the coronavirus pandemic will allow for in-person or distance learning this fall, parents and students are still planning to spend a lot of money getting ready for it.

The National Retail Federation, the world's largest retail trade association, is predicting that American consumers will spend a record $101.6 billion on back-to-school shopping this year, combining spending for K-12 and college students.

NRF surveyed 7,481 consumers between July 1 and July 8 and found that most had only completed about 17% of their shoppping so far.

"Most people said it was because they didn't know what to buy yet," Katherine Cullen, senior director of industry and consumer insights at NRF, told Business Insider. "As that information comes in, as decisions are made about the school year, families may adjust accordingly."

For 72% of those surveyed, the expectation that at least some learning will happen at home this fall is affecting what they expect they will need to buy. 36% of those surveyed said they expect to buy laptops to make distance learning a little easier, while some are buying furniture to recreate a classroom at home.

"Unlike when the shutdowns happened, families have a little bit more time to plan in anticipation of the start of the year. They may have also realized what worked or didn't work for them in the spring," Cullen said.

88% of those surveyed said the pandemic will impact their back-to-school shopping in some form, with 43% saying they would shop online more this year. According to NRF, all other shopping destinations — department stores, discount stores, clothing stores, office supply stores — are likely to see trafffic declines.

Cullen said that with college students in particular, shoppers will be looking to make fewer in-person shopping trips overall.

"We're seeing that when people do make a trip, they sort of figured out already what they want and they're going in with a lot of intention because it's not necessarily an environment where they can browse as much," she said. "Maybe they are still going to a physical store to get something, but they will have done all their browsing online."