---
title: 3 Places to Escape the Back-to-School Shopping Crowds
description: New National Retail Federation survey shows that most families are far from finished with their back-to-college shopping this year.
authors:
  - name: Greg Daugherty
    url: https://money.com/author/greg-daugherty/
    at_money_since: 2015
    articles: 22
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published: '2016-08-18T16:32:51.000Z'
modified: '2024-04-17T03:21:51.000Z'
section: Lifestyle
tags:
  - back to school
  - College
  - college costs
  - colleges
  - National Retail Federation
word_count: 158
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![student rushing with stack of books](https://img.money.com/2016/08/160818_coll_btcshopping1.jpg)

Got some back-to-college shopping on your to-do list for this coming weekend?

Join the crowd.

In fact, good luck avoiding the crowd.

Only about 15% of families had finished their college shopping as of last Friday, according to a [just-released](https://nrf.com/media/press-releases/back-school-shopping-only-halfway-mark-despite-early-start) National Retail Federation (NRF) survey. That’s down from 19% at the same time last year. On average, families said they weren't even 50% of the way there.

Where should you expect the biggest mobs? Discount and department stores are likely to see the briskest business, the NRF says, with 42% of families saying that’s where they plan to head.

Online retailers were next, with 40%, followed by clothing stores with 31%, office supply stores at 26%, and electronics stores at 22%.

Want to dodge the crowds? Consider local small businesses, thrift and resale shops, and drug stores. A mere 8% of families said they’d be shopping there.

***Related: [12 Banned Items to Leave Off Your College Shopping List](https://money.com/what-not-to-pack-for-college/)***

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