By Dana Dean
St. Louis (KSDK) -- There's a growing trend in back-to-school shopping. More people are taking their school supply lists online. NewsChannel 5's Dana Dean compared prices for us and has the best deals.
I got my hands on one school supply list and went shopping for the same items twice. I went to a website specializing in school supplies and then to a big box store. With more people buying supplies online, I wanted to see if they're actually saving any money.
The first stop turned out to be a one-stop-shop. The website I went to is called EZSchoolSupples.com. I bought everything on here from the Craig Elementary second grade list, including a box of tissues and a bottle of hand sanitizer. After shipping, the total cost came to $82.11. Then I took the list to Kmart, where I found many of the same brand name items. It took more time but it saved money. The total, with taxes, was $64.63. I saved $17.48 by shopping for the supplies in person.
It is a growing trend to go online for school supplies. Four in 10 people will shop on the internet for school supplies this year, according to the National Retail Federation. The NRF also says online back to school shoppers will spend 27% more money than someone who shops in stores.
I found online shopping for supplies to be convenient, considering the fact that I was able to get everything from one website. However, I had to pay for shipping. Also, remember that big box stores tend to offer door busters this time of year.
The NRF says a family will spend an average of $688 on supplies this year. If they go online they'll spend $874 for supplies.
Missouri has its sales tax free holiday weekend August 3-5. Illinois is not participating this year.
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