Gearing up

Paper, pencils, notebooks and maybe a graphing calculator — that was it.

Now, the shopping list of parents whose children are heading back to school might include a laptop, IPod, MP3 player or the latest learning software.

In an era in which BlackBerrys are ubiquitous and laptops and cell phones commonplace, not just college students need to have the latest technology for school.

Parents of middle school and high school children find themselves shopping more than ever for electronic school supplies.

“You have to,” Cynthia Paine said, as she was buying her 16-year-old son a desktop computer at Best Buy for the upcoming school year.

“[My children] on a daily basis have assignments that are on the Internet. We find we have to a computer for each of them,” said Mrs. Paine, a 42-year-old McLean resident and mother of four children.

According to a recent survey, back-to-school spending on electronics for students in grades kindergarten through 12th grade will reach $3.82 billion, up $1.5 billion from last year.

This will give a big boost to total school spending in 2006, which will reach a record $17.6 billion, according to the National Retail Federation’s 2006 Back-to-School Consumer Intentions and Actions Survey. The spending total has increased $13.4 billion from last year.

Purchases for school supplies such as personal digital assistants and laptops are increasing because electronics are not only useful for class work, but also they are becoming accessories, said Scott Krugman, a NRF spokesman.

“If it’s back to school related, kids want it to go back to school. Do I think it’s particularly needed in the classroom — probably not,” Mr. Krugman said. “It used to be what kind of sneakers and what kind of jeans [to buy for school]. Now its about what kind of cell phone or IPod.”

Josh Paine, the 16-year-old who just got the new computer, said he’s noticing the trend in his school.

“In the past two years, I’ve seen tons of IPods and cell phones. It didn’t use to be like that,” he said.

Retailers see it, too, and their advertising is following suit, even if certain merchandise isn’t needed for class work.

Best Buy’s Web site features lists of school supplies under the title “High School Prerequisites” and “Elementary Necessities.” Flash drives, camcorders, digital cameras, cell phones, education software and hand-held Leapster learning games are all featured under the checklists.

“It’s just adding a different type of enjoyment to their lifestyle,” said Duc Dang, a Best Buy customer-experience manager. He added that school supplies don’t have to be just for studying.

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