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To bougie Gen Alphas and Gen Zs heading back to school, the ABCs stand for Alo, Balenciaga and Chanel.
Luxury labels, designer devices, and A-list accessories are at the top of the list of demands from social media-influenced youngsters returning to the classroom this semester.
And, according to alarming new data, New York parents are paying the most money in the US to keep their kids haute in the hallways.
“The [national] average back-to-school spending per child is $774,” said researchers for CouponBirds, an online discounts hub, before noting that Big Apple moms and dads are spending approximately $1,348 per child.
Nurka Lucevic, a Queens mother of four, has shelled out $2,500 — an amount she likens to “a mortgage payment” — on choice clothes, name brand bags and Stanley Cups for her crew, who range in age from 2 to 12.
“Everything is much, much more expensive this year,” Lucevic, 31, told The Post, adding that her two tweenagers, ages 8 and 12, routinely request new high-end gear they see others sporting on TikTok and YouTube.
“It’s every single day,” moaned the stay-at-home mama. Her brood gets back to reading, writing and arithmetic Thursday.
“Literally, every day they’re like, ‘We want these sneakers, we want this, we didn’t want that,’” continued Lucevic. “And every item costs well over $100.”
She’s in the groaning, growing flock of folks who blame the internet for making back-to-school shopping a pricey pain in the butt.
But the sting isn’t limited to parents in the U.S.
Investigators for Nationwide, a retail banking service in the UK, found that 36% of moms and dads attribute the demand for chichi commodities to viral social media “haul” posts, per an August 2025 study.
In the vids, teenybopper tastemakers show off their massive back-to-school gets, offering glimpses at the costly Chanel sneakers, Louis Vuitton bags or Lululemon leggings they plan to rock to class.
A faction of the little look-at-me influencers have even stamped the clips, some which have garnered over 1.9 million views, with snooty titles like “$10,000 back-to-school haul.”
The report revealed that 56% of parents feel “pressured” to spend beyond their means in order to appease their pups.
Adults polled said their insatiable tikes are begging for stylish clothes (43%), swanky backpacks (34%), premium water bottles (27%) and designer handbags (23%).
The fledgling fashionistas have also got their hands out for new laptops, bag charms, hair accessories, trendy phones and headphones, and upscale makeup.
But Sue Hayward, a financial expert with Nationwide, says back-to-school shopping doesn’t have to mean the end of budgeting.
Rather than splurging on the latest and greatest, she suggests buying first-rate garb from second-hand vendors.
“Cash strapped parents can save by stocking up on basics like polo tops, jumpers and stationery with supermarket deals,” said Hayward in the study. “And it’s also worth looking for ‘nearly new’ [clothes] on sites such as Vinted and eBay.
“Buying ‘outgrown’ items through the school or your local Facebook group can also help save money.”
Read the full article here
