The average back-to-school expenditure will amount to an average of 478 euros this year, 12% more than in 2025, which translates into an increase of about 50 euros. This is according to the report «Zoom Back to School», presented this Wednesday by the Cetelem Observatory, which also shows that 38.2% of those surveyed intend their average expenditure to be between 100 and 300 euros.
Despite the increase in spending compared to last year, half of the Spaniards surveyed are confident that they will not increase it and 28% plan to reduce their school budget. To achieve this, 47% said they will take advantage of the book loan system, four out of ten will reuse materials and a third will go to the second-hand market.
Compared to Spaniards who expect to allocate less money to back to school, 22% plan to spend more than the previous year. For 69%, the reason for this higher outlay is the rise in prices, while 45% pointed to the increase in books and materials that they will have to buy.
7% will spend more this year due to the increase in their family and 3% will do so because they have stopped taking advantage of the book loan system, according to the conclusions of the Cetelem Observatory.
MATERIALS, BOOKS AND CLOTHING
The products that will be bought the most will be school supplies, books and clothing, in line with the trend of previous years. However, these items will not be the only ones that consume part of the family budget for the return to school.
39% will allocate part of the expenditure to the payment of tuition fees and educational fees, which are higher in higher education. 16% will also include electronic devices in their budget this year, 2 points more than last year.
