If you're looking for a deal, you probably think to wait until the holidays, when most retailers launch big Black Friday sales.
This is a sound idea; the holiday shopping season remains the most lucrative time of the year for most retailers.
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But the back-to-school shopping season is kind of like Black Friday's little sister.
“The back-to-school shopping period from July to mid-September is the second-biggest sales driver of the year after the holiday season,” the U.S. Chamber of Commerce reports.
Every year, usually in the weeks that lead up to late August or early September, most big-box retail stores hold their own versions of back-to-school sales.
It may seem gimmicky to celebrate a pretty routine part of the year to get shoppers through the door, but it works.
“Americans are expected to spend $38.8 billion on clothes and supplies for children in grades K-12, and $86.6 billion on college students,” the U.S. Chamber of Commerce said, per a 2024 National Retail Federation report.
But tariffs, rising prices, and inflation complicate this picture.
Many families have indicated they'll either slow their spending or specifically shop at discount retailers in search of deals.
Some retailers, like Walmart (WMT) , are poised to win in such an environment.
Walmart cuts prices on back-to-school
The late summertime is typically a busy shopping period for Walmart.
Customers are shopping for vacation, outdoor activities, picnics, and barbecues.
And the most prepared ones begin to trickle in around mid-July for back-to-school shopping.
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So Walmart has decided to roll back the cost of some crucial items for families.
The Arkansas-based retailer has cut the price of its top 14 most popular items to prices lower than they were one year prior.
Some items are as low as $0.25, and its popular private brand Wonder Nation backpack is less than $5 at just $4.98.
All told, Walmart says a student can get outfitted for the new year for just $65.
Tariffs complicate back-to-school shopping
But tariffs, which are duties on imported goods, have complicated the typically profitable back-to-school shopping period.
Walmart CEO Doug McMillon explained the complication during the Q1 2026 earnings call.
“We started to see increases happen in April and through May. We've been really focused on back-to-school receipts,” McMillon explained. “When you have an imported item, you pay the tariff at the time it comes through customs. And so the cost is higher, even if the tariff rate comes down later, the cost has been elevated.
McMillon added that tariffs could touch certain items, including back-to-school supplies, with an outsized effect.
“So I wouldn't think of this as a moment in time necessarily, except when you think about seasonal things like back-to-school.”
Target, Amazon hold early sales
Other top retailers, including Target (TGT) and Amazon (AMZN) , are also hosting early back-to-school promotions.
Amazon's Prime Day served as its early back-to-school launch. It featured deals on books, notebooks, and pens for as low as $3.
And Target announced it would put over 20 items on sale for back-to-school.
The Minnesota-based retailer said it was freezing the prices of these items at 2024 prices.
It claims students can bundle most of their school essentials for just around $20.
