57 Percent of Back-to-School Shoppers Will Not Buy New Computers, Study Finds

Back-to-School Shopping Report Finds Laptops, Desktops, Mobile Devices Out of Style this Season for Consumers Seeking to Save Money

BOISE, Idaho and GLASGOW, Scotland, Aug. 12, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Mindful of saving money, more than half of back-to-school shoppers will not purchase computers this year, according to a study by Crucial.com released today. The Crucial.com Back-to-School Shopping Report, which includes responses from 1,000 adults in the U.S., found that 57% of respondents do not plan to purchase laptops, desktops, tablets, or mobile devices for school this year, as a vast majority of consumers are increasingly concerned with becoming more frugal.

The research showed U.S. consumers – and back-to-school shoppers in particular – are seeking ways to cut back where they can. Seventy-three percent of respondents said they were very concerned with saving money, a number that increased to 82% for back-to-school shoppers. In general, 82% of respondents said it was more important to save money than save time, and 81% said they would be most inclined to put money toward savings or paying off bills if given $1,000 to spend.

If given $1,000 to spend, respondents said they would:

Pay off bills	46 percent
Put it into savings	35 percent
Go on vacation	9 percent
Buy a new computer/tablet/phone	6 percent
Buy a new car	3 percent
Give to charity	2 percent

Back-to-school shoppers cited several ways they save money, including clipping coupons (82%), do-it-yourself projects (57%), and buying generic brands (57%). Additionally, 61% of back-to-school shoppers said they would try to fix a slow computer themselves to save money, rather than spend money on expensive repairs. Fifty-eight percent said they expected a computer to last at least five years.

"The results of the survey delivered an underlying theme: most Americans seek to be as frugal as possible, but struggle to do so," said Ed Walker, Crucial E-Commerce Marketing Manager. "It's not surprising consumers are seeking to make computers and various mobile devices last as long as possible, given their expense. When back-to-school season arrives, it can make a lot of sense for families to extend the life and performance of their existing computers, rather than spend hundreds of dollars on new ones."

When shopping for the new school year, consumers ranked spending money as the biggest stress factor, ahead of locating particular items and dealing with crowded stores. Only 2% identified themselves as "big spenders" when asked to describe their money-saving mentality. The largest segment of back-to-school shoppers this year is females aged 35 to 44, 53% of whom said they planned to shop or had already.

The Crucial.com Back-to-School Shopping Report is based on an online, quantitative market research study commissioned by Crucial.com and conducted by independent research firm GMI from June 27th – July 5th, 2014. Respondents were comprised of 500 men and 500 women in the United States ages 35 and over. For information about the survey, Crucial, or computer memory upgrades visit Crucial.com.