TAMPA — Florida's tax-free holiday for back-to-school material kicks off Saturday, but the bargains may not be as good this year as in years past.
The National Retail Federation expects consumers to spend 37 billion dollars in back-to-school supplies, up 3 billion from 2020. Consumer experts say shoppers can blame part of that will be due to price spikes related to covid blamed shortages.
The site DealNews predicts shortages on imported items like backs and higher prices for other supplies like wood pencils.
“It could turn out to be a perfect storm to where it's just harder for parents to get the items they need for their kids,” said DealNews spokesperson Julie Ramhold.
Denise Taylor, a lifestyle blogger and stay-at-home Mom of three, knows how to rein in supply costs. She relies on store apps to alert her to clearance sales and free money.
“They send me a lot of special offers and the latest is 5 dollars off 25 dollars.” Said Taylor who is also a big fan of buying gently used clothing and backpacks on Facebook Marketplace.
Millions are expected to hunt in-store and online this weekend to max out savings and pocket the sales tax relief during the 3-day tax holiday.
Taylor said she'll pick up a few basics before school starts but will wait until after August to stock up for the year. “The best time that I’ve seen to buy back-to-school stuff is like Halloween.”
Here’s a list of all of the items covered by the tax free holiday.
