Back to school sales start in late June at a couple of retailers, but most of what’s actually built for the season runs later, through July and deep into August. Wherever you’re reading this, you’re probably not behind.
Back to school stopped being a single trip a while ago. According to RetailMeNot’s 2026 Back to School Survey, 46% of shoppers say they plan to start by July, and the buying keeps building through August and even after school starts. Spreading it out is what actually works.
A few big general summer sales run in late June, but those aren’t back to school events. The sales actually built for the season, teacher and student discounts, the Apple promotion, tax free weekends, run through July, August, and into September.
When Is the Target Back to School Sale?
Target runs its own back-to-school sale on supplies with items under a dollar, and it leans into the one-stop-trip experience harder than Walmart or Staples does. None of the three big-box retailers wins every week though, which is really a question of knowing when to buy and where to buy. Checking cash back across all three before committing to one store saves the trouble of flipping between weekly ads.
When Is the Staples and Walmart Back to School Sale?
Walmart and Staples run the deepest markdowns on basic supplies, and both go live in late June. Staples cycles a new ad every week, and at some point in the summer, its prices on things like glue and colored pencils actually dip below Walmart’s. Neither one stays cheapest all season, so the winner rotates depending on the week.
When Do Back to School Clothing and Shoe Sales Start?
Clothing and shoes have passed school supplies as the top back to school category, 48% to 43% according to the RetailMeNot 2026 survey. The heaviest apparel and shoe promotions land in August, as retailers clear summer stock ahead of the first day of school. A supply list ends. A clothing list never does, kids need more all season, which is exactly why apparel is the one category worth spreading across the whole summer rather than buying in one trip.
When Do Back to School Laptop and Phone Sales Start?
This is the one category where the usual timing advice flips. A global memory chip shortage, driven by the same companies building AI data centers buying up supply faster than manufacturers can replace it, has been pushing laptop and phone prices up in a way a sale can’t undo. Waiting for the calendar still works most years. The chip shortage changes that math right now.
Before buying, check the actual memory and storage configuration, not just the price, whether shopping at Best Buy, Target, or straight from manufacturers like Apple, Dell, HP, or Asus. A cheap-looking laptop is sometimes just a downgraded version of the one being compared against it.
When Does the Apple Back to School Sale Start?
Apple runs its promotion on its own calendar, separate from every other sale in this guide. Rather than discounting current products, Apple gives students a free accessory, AirPods or an Apple Pencil in past years, worth up to roughly two hundred dollars, when they buy a Mac or an iPad. It typically runs through the end of September.
Eligibility is the catch: this is a higher-education program only, covering college students, parents, teachers and staff, verified through a service called UNiDAYS. Anyone buying a Mac for an incoming college student should wait for this promotion and let it stack on top of Apple’s standing education discount.
What’s the Best Time to Buy Back to College Supplies?
Back-to-college is nearly its own season, and the most expensive one. The 2026 survey put average spending at its highest for college students, ahead of both grade school and high school, driven by dorm setup costs, bedding, storage and electronics.
Target runs a student and teacher discount, 20% off a storewide purchase, typically live from early July through mid-September. That discount stacks with cash back too, something most shoppers never think to check before checkout.
How to Stack Back to School Discounts
The sale price is only the starting point. Layering the markdown, a promo code, and cash back is what actually gets to the real final price, and most people stop one step too early.
Most states run a tax-free weekend during back-to-school season, too, usually late July into early August. Some run longer. The sales tax comes off clothing, supplies, and in many states, electronics, which makes a laptop or a big clothing trip the easiest money saved all season.
Buy Now, Wait, or Save: A Back to School Timing Table
| Category | Buy Now, Wait, or Save | Why |
| Backpack, shoes, supply list, first-day outfits | Buy Now | Has to be ready for the first morning, no benefit to waiting |
| Supplies that run out (paper, pencils, glue) | Wait | The list your kid brings home in week two is the real one |
| Jackets, hoodies, cold-weather gear | Save | Cheaper later, useless in August heat |
| Laptop | Save (unless memory/storage specs are strong now) | Chip shortage means waiting may not lower the price |
| Learning apps and subscriptions | Save | Lowest prices don’t hit until late August into September |
What RetailMeNot’s Survey Found About Back-to-School Spending
The most telling shift in the 2026 data has nothing to do with deals. Fifty percent of shoppers used to say the cost of school supplies was their top worry. That number is now 43%. Meanwhile, worry about staying on budget overall climbed from 29% to 37%. That increase reflects anxiety more than actual spending behavior. Parents have made peace with what a backpack costs and started worrying about the whole cart instead.
Finding a deal used to be the hard part of back to school. The deals find shoppers now. The hard part is the total, and the total only comes down by stacking every discount that lands on the same purchase, the sale, the tax free weekend, the promo code, and the cash back, rather than stopping at the first one found.
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