By Carson Hartzog, The Minnesota Star Tribune

Color-coded folders and notebooks. A fresh stash of pens and pencils. A new outfit.

Millions of American students from preschool through college, and their (often) bankrolling parents, back-to-school shop ahead of each fall. But as prices rise, technology evolves and new products hit the shelves, families are seeking ways to keep checking off the school supply list affordably.

“When I was young, I had $50 to go to the grocery store. I go now, and that’s, like, three or four items,” said Matt Marsh, Minneapolis managing partner at Deloitte. “Everything costs more. So families are getting squeezed a bit, and it’s creating a level of anxiety.”

According to PwC’s inaugural back-to-school survey, nearly 3 in 4 parents said they’ll spend the same or more than they did last year on school supplies, even with higher prices and economic volatility.

“There’s still this underlying element of consumer confidence,” said Kelly Pedersen, a partner at PwC. “Even though we hear a lot of uncertainty in the market, people still need to shop for back-to-school.”

Plan and budget

Before shopping, take inventory of last year’s supplies. About a third of parents plan to reuse items, according to PwC.

Budgeting, paired with a specific shopping list, can prevent impulse buying.

In Minneapolis, parents Deloitte surveyed expected to spend $682 per child this year. That’s 20% more than the national average.

Niki Kroll of Minneapolis typically starts her back-to-school shopping in July and has already noticed higher prices. Various name-brand notebooks, folders and backpacks seem to be more expensive than previous years. But she has had success finding pencils, glue sticks and other basics on sale.

Those surveyed planned to spend less on clothing and more on school supplies. They also plan to spend more of their budget on tech than last year, though experts expect the total of those tech purchases to stay flat in comparison to last year’s $520 per family.

Assess need

As kids progress in school, more advanced classes might require new tech purchases, like a different calculator model, nearly each year. Delaying that purchase if possible or downgrading it — such as buying an older or used version — can free up room for more necessities like binders, scissors and pencil cases.

“Consider asking your child’s teacher what’s essential on day one vs. what can wait until later in the year,” wrote Ted Rossman, Bankrate senior industry analyst, in an analyst note.

Shop now

More than a third of parents PwC surveyed said they’re starting earlier this year to snag better prices and beat the rush.

“There’s this thought that the better deals are out there earlier before the heart of back-to-school in August,” Pedersen said.

Deloitte’s survey found more than two-thirds of Minneapolis parents plan to finish most of their school shopping by the end of July. They were able to cash in on recent sales like Target’s Circle Week and Amazon’s Prime Day. But several retailers are hosting back-to-school promotions through August.

Target announced Tuesday “Back-to-School-idays” discounts from July 27-Aug. 2. The retailer is maintaining its 2024 prices on key items, and some stores will have personalization stations with embroidery and patches for backpacks, lunchboxes, towels and pillows.

Walmart is offering lower prices than last year on select items, such as highlighters, erasers and notebooks.

Use AI

One in five parents told PwC they plan to use artificial intelligence to find the best deals this season.

“The biggest change we’ve seen with AI shopping is the agent concept, basically putting in your shopping list and budget to optimize your list and what you buy,” Pedersen said. “It’s really taking all of the searching work out of having to do back-to-school shopping.”

AI tools like app and website ChatGPT allow users to paste in a list of school supplies and make requests, like “find these items for the cheapest prices online or in-store within 20 miles of Minneapolis.” Users can also ask to search specific stores and keep the total under a certain amount.

Don’t fall for influencers

Deloitte’s data shows parents who use social media are likely to spend 1½ times more on back-to-school than others. Higher education, bigger wages, better access to the internet and more leisure time spent online all play a role.

“Generally, retailers are moving marketing dollars toward influencers, and influencers are creating behaviors that might result in that splurge purchase,” Marsh said.

More than two-thirds of Minneapolis parents said their child’s preferences often steer them to spend more, and 63% are willing to spend a little extra on their child’s first-day outfit compared with 57% nationally.

Make it fun

In Bloomington, Mall of America is hosting giveaways, limited-time promotions and events for back-to-school. Shoppers can scan the Mall of America app once per day for a chance to win a gift card or rewards points. The mall plans to give away more than $10,000 in gift cards between Aug. 11-31.

Deals are also available for the Nickelodeon Universe theme park and Crayola Experience from Aug. 4-Sept. 30.

“For parents and families coming to Mall of America, it’s a one-stop shop,” said Jill Renslow, Mall of America’s chief business development and marketing officer. “It’s a destination where people have that tradition of coming for not only shopping, but to go on some rides or grab lunch.”

Many cities also offer local events for free or low-cost school supplies, just look on city events calendars.

In store vs. online

Younger parents are leading a small resurgence of in-store shopping.

“Every year in our stats, Gen Zs are the ones who are visiting physical stores the most,” Pedersen said. “[They] value in-person experiences, and in some cases, they’re willing to pay a premium price for that.”

Gen Z also reported a higher likelihood of buying in-store. In previous years, younger shoppers more commonly browsed stores to try on or test products but made final purchases online.

Income also plays a role. Families earning under $75,000 are nearly twice as likely to shop only in-store, while higher-income households tend to prefer online shopping.

Be strategic

While inflation has cooled to 2.4%, prices are still up nearly 24% compared with pre-pandemic levels, according to Bankrate.

“It’s not like when the rate goes down, prices go down. They just don’t go up as fast anymore,” Marsh said. “But there’s a lot of economic anxiety about pricing.”

Looking for generic versions of favorite brands or comparing prices across stores can save money. So can thrifting, Pedersen said. About a fifth of shoppers said they’re looking to shop secondhand.

Shoppers can stack discounts by combining a rewards credit card with store promotions or other available offers, which can add up to considerable savings, Rossman wrote in an analyst note.

For Kroll, she enjoys letting her kids pick their most personal items, like lunchboxes. Despite higher prices, those moments are some of her family’s favorite memories.

“We really like shopping for backpacks and things that have more wiggle room for the kids’ own style. The lists have gotten quite specific, so it’s fun when they can pick out their own stuff,” Kroll said. “My son knows immediately what he wants, and my daughter tries on about 10 backpacks while looking in the mirror.”

©2025 The Minnesota Star Tribune. Visit at startribune.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

By MICHAEL LIEDTKE The Associated Press

CUPERTINO, Calif. — After stumbling out of the starting gate in Big Tech’s pivotal race to capitalize on artificial intelligence, Apple tried to regain its footing Monday during an annual developers conference that focused mostly on incremental advances and cosmetic changes in its technology.

The presummer rite, which attracted thousands of developers from nearly 60 countries to Apple’s Silicon Valley headquarters, was subdued compared with the feverish anticipation that surrounded the event in the last two years.

Apple highlighted plans for more AI tools designed to simplify people’s lives and make its products even more intuitive. It also provided an early glimpse at the biggest redesign of its iPhone software in a decade. In doing so, Apple executives refrained from issuing bold promises of breakthroughs that punctuated recent conferences, prompting CFRA analyst Angelo Zino to deride the event as a “dud” in a research note.

More AI, but what about Siri?

In 2023, Apple unveiled a mixed-reality headset that has been little more than a niche product, and last year WWDC trumpeted its first major foray into the AI craze with an array of new features highlighted by the promise of a smarter and more versatile version of its virtual assistant, Siri — a goal that has yet to be realized.

“This work needed more time to reach our high-quality bar,” Craig Federighi, Apple’s top software executive, said Monday at the outset of the conference. The company didn’t provide a precise timetable for when Siri’s AI upgrade will be finished but indicated it won’t happen until next year at the earliest.

“The silence surrounding Siri was deafening,” said Forrester Research analyst Dipanjan Chatterjee said. “No amount of text corrections or cute emojis can fill the yawning void of an intuitive, interactive AI experience that we know Siri will be capable of when ready. We just don’t know when that will happen. The end of the Siri runway is coming up fast, and Apple needs to lift off.”

Is Apple, with its ‘liquid glass,’ still a trendsetter?

The showcase unfolded amid nagging questions about whether Apple has lost some of the mystique and innovative drive that has made it a tech trendsetter during its nearly 50-year history.

Instead of making a big splash as it did with the Vision Pro headset and its AI suite, Apple took a mostly low-key approach that emphasized its effort to spruce up the look of its software with a new design called “Liquid Glass” while also unveiling a new hub for its video games and new features like a “Workout Buddy” to help manage physical fitness.

Apple executives promised to make its software more compatible with the increasingly sophisticated computer chips that have been powering its products while also making it easier to toggle between the iPhone, iPad, and Mac.

“Our product experience has become even more seamless and enjoyable,” Apple CEO Tim Cook told the crowd as the 90-minute showcase wrapped up.

IDC analyst Francisco Jeronimo said Apple seemed to be largely using Monday’s conference to demonstrate the company still has a blueprint for success in AI, even if it’s going to take longer to realize the vision that was presented a year ago.

“This year’s event was not about disruptive innovation, but rather careful calibration, platform refinement and developer enablement —positioning itself for future moves rather than unveiling game-changing technologies,” Jeronimo said.

Apple’s next operating system will be iOS 26

Besides redesigning its software. Apple will switch to a method that automakers have used to telegraph their latest car models by linking them to the year after they first arrive at dealerships. That means the next version of the iPhone operating system due out this autumn will be known as iOS 26 instead of iOS 19 — as it would be under the previous naming approach that has been used since the device’s 2007 debut.

The iOS 26 upgrade is expected to be released in September around the same time Apple traditionally rolls out the next iPhone models.

Playing catchup in AI

Apple opened the proceedings with a short video clip featuring Federighi speeding around a track in a Formula 1 race car. Although it was meant to promote the June 27 release of the Apple film, “F1” starring Brad Pitt, the segment could also be viewed as an unintentional analogy to the company’s attempt to catch up to the rest of the pack in AI technology.

While some of the new AI tricks compatible with the latest iPhones began rolling out late last year as part of free software updates, the delays in a souped-up Siri became so glaring that the chastened company stopped promoting it in its marketing campaigns earlier this year.

While Apple has been struggling to make AI that meets its standards, the gap separating it from other tech powerhouses is widening. Google keeps packing more AI into its Pixel smartphone lineup while introducing more of the technology into its search engine to dramatically change the way it works. Samsung, Apple’s biggest smartphone rival, is also leaning heavily into AI. Meanwhile, ChatGPT recently struck a deal that will bring former Apple design guru Jony Ive into the fold to work on a new device expected to compete against the iPhone.

Regulatory and trade challenges

Besides grappling with innovation challenges, Apple also faces regulatory threats that could siphon away billions of dollars in revenue that help finance its research and development. A federal judge is currently weighing whether proposed countermeasures to Google’s illegal monopoly in search should include a ban on long-running deals worth $20 billion annually to Apple while another federal judge recently banned the company from collecting commissions on in-app transactions processed outside its once-exclusive payment system.

On top of all that, Apple has been caught in the crosshairs of President Donald Trump’s trade war with China, a key manufacturing hub for the Cupertino, California, company. Cook successfully persuaded Trump to exempt the iPhone from tariffs during the president’s first administration, but he has had less success during Trump’s second term, which seems more determined to prod Apple to make its products in the U.S.

The multidimensional gauntlet facing Apple is spooking investors, causing the company’s stock price to plunge by 20% so far this year — a decline that has erased about $750 billion in shareholder wealth. After beginning the year as the most valuable company in the world, Apple now ranks third behind longtime rival Microsoft, another AI leader, and AI chipmaker Nvidia.

Apple’s shares closed down by more than 1% on Monday — an early indication the company’s latest announcements didn’t inspire investors.