“This makes shopping easier and cheaper.” These are parents who avoid the busy back-to-school shopping rush. They wait until school has already been open for a week to go shopping.
The school year begins on September 8, 2025, but for some, the shopping has just started. While the rush unfolds in the stores, another group waits. Their strategy is defined by a different timeline. “During the week for back to school, parents are urged to buy with the different prices, pressures, and all.”
Some begin one week after the classrooms are full. In the bookshop after a week, their lists are not from the school’s handout but from their actual experience. «My daughter is going to Lower Sixth, so she knows her subjects. No need requesting from the school,” said Therese Ako, a parent. They will know which notebook is preferred, which type of folder works best, and which items were never used.
The stores are different then. The crowds have reduced. The environment is calm, and those parents buy in silence. The bookcases, once empty, have been restocked for this period. The selection is complete again, and the seasonal promotions have started to appear. The act of shopping becomes a quiet task, not a race.
For these parents, the financial pressure is also different. The cost is not a single large expense at the start of the year but is spread out over time. The budget is easier to manage when separated from the other costs of a new term.
It is a simple shift in timing. The backpack is prepared gradually, with only what is immediately necessary for the first days. The rest is acquired later, without urgency. It is a different approach to the same annual ritual.
