For back-to-school (bts), parents expect to spend more on shoes this year, and they might be willing to give up some quality if they can get something similar at a lower price.

Those were two data points from a recent survey conducted by Coresight Research published last week. (The study surveyed 510 respondents ages 18 and up on June 3.)

Apparel and accessories saw the highest increase in the number of respondents who expect to pay more, at 59 percent, versus 8.2 percent in 2025. Footwear was the second largest category on increase in spend expectations, at up 45.3 percent versus 5.9 percent last year.

Higher prices have shoppers on the hunt for value, with lower prices as a key factor at 57.6 percent, up from 48.8 percent in 2025. Product quality in comparison slipped to 54.1 percent from 55.8 percent.

By school level, 80.4 percent of respondents said they will purchase new footwear for their elementary school students, while 80.5 percent said that same for their middle schoolers. There was a slight uptick to 83.4 percent for respondents shopping for high school students. The shoe category overall was third in purchasing plans, at 79.2 percent. That was behind apparel and accessories, at 85.7 percent, and school supplies and stationery at 83.5 percent.

“Although shoppers plan to spend a bit more this year, they’re being very careful on their purchases,” Coresight’s John Harmon, managing director of technology research, said. “Inflation is a big part of it. And now we have these AI tools that consumers can use to compare prices [that will send] an alert when a product hits the price point you’re looking for.”

Half of the respondents said higher gas prices will impact how they shop for bts this year: They plan to make fewer shopping trips or shop more at one-stop retailers, such as Walmart and Target. Three in five said higher prices overall due to general inflation will limit how much they will buy this year, which will see them seeking promotions and bulk discounts or chasing lower-priced brands or private label.

At least three in 10 bts shoppers, or 30.9 percent, said they plan to buy secondhand products due increased prices. But overall, fewer bts shoppers this year are open to resale across multiple categories. In apparel and accessories, 35.5 percent cited resale interest, down from 42 percent in 2025. For footwear, just 23.1 percent said they would consider resale, down 13.3 percentage points from 36.4 percent in the 2025 survey.

As for the retail channel where the bts shoppers plan, mass merchandisers were the top choice at 67.8 percent. Within the mass category, Walmart is set to dominate the bts shopping season, with 59 percent citing the mass discounter, versus 56 percent a year ago. Target was second, at 39 percent, down from 42 percent. The mass merchant channel easily beat out the second-place online-only retailer or marketplace — think Amazon — that was cited by 45.5 percent of respondents. The shoe store was in third place at 36.7 percent.

In key retail data points, 9 percent said they plan to shop at Famous Footwear, versus 13 percent in 2025. Among the sporting goods doors, 11 percent said they will shop at Dick’s Sporting Goods, down slightly from 12 percent last year, while 6 percent cited shopping at Academy Sports + Outdoor, but that was down from 8 percent in 2025.

Academy has been making a push to grow its suburban store base targeting the outdoor enthusiast and the sporting “Always Game Family” where members participate in multiple sports activities. Sixteen percent said they would shop at Foot Locker, versus 20 percent in 2025. Seven percent said they plan to shop bts at Shoe Carnival, down from 11 percent last year. While only 5 percent said they plan to shp at DSW, versus 6 percent last year.

Other key data points include 82 percent of respondents stating that they plan to shop in-store.

Online, the platforms Temu and Shein are expected to see no or little growth, likely due to challenges to their de minimis advantage, with the former at 7 percent from 9 percent in 2025 and the latter at 7 percent from 8 percent a year ago. In addition, seven percent of respondents said they plan to shop for bts at the social media platform TikTok, but that was down from 11 percent in 2025.

On the apparel front, the fashion trend consumers were most excited about was atheisure, followed by collar tees and shirts and minimalist and monochrome fashion.

So what does the fashion trend mean for shoes?

That assortment mix leaves the field wide open for a mix of shoe styles. The focus on athleisure and comfort-focused trends suggest that sneakers and comfort footwear will still resonate with kids, while some traditional dressy items could see more dressier footwear styles on the way for students as well.