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This July 18, 2018, photo shows a display of back to
school backpacks in a Staples store in Pittsburgh. Llamas are in demand
for decoration on backpacks and other school supplies this year. (AP
Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
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By ANNE D’INNOCENZIO
NEW YORK (AP)
The microwave ate my homework? Reusable notebooks where writing
disappears with heat are among the basic school supplies raising their
game against gadgets like iPads.
Also hot in the paper aisle this year: Decorative tape, creative journals and scented pencils in smells like bacon and pickle.
“There’s an explosion of innovation and fun” in school supplies, said
Scott Bayles, vice president of stationery at Walmart. He noted that
people are looking for ways to relieve stress through creative
expression, and that’s trickling down to kids.
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This July 19, 2018, photo shows a display of sparkle
Elmer’s glue in a Walmart in Pittsburgh. Elmer’s has been expanding
beyond its famous white school glue to purple, pink and blue glitter
glue and even a slime starter kit. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
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Companies that make school supplies have figured out how to get
parents to spend more by offering innovations on the basics, said
Marshal Cohen, chief industry adviser at The NPD Group. At Staples, for
example, a pack of 72 basic No. 2 pencils costs about $15.49, or 21
cents each, while a pack of five scented pencils runs $7.99, or $1.60
each.
Overall, stores expect a healthy back-to-school shopping season,
fueled by a strong economy and high consumer confidence. Deloitte
forecasts that back-to-school spending will increase 2.2 percent to
$27.6 billion this year, with the average spending per household rising
slightly to $510 from $501 last year. That includes $112 on school
supplies, up from $104.
Here are four trends:
— NEW KINDS OF NOTEBOOKS AND PENS: The Rocketbook Wave notebook that
runs about $25 works like a traditional pen and paper version. But when
pages are full, you can scan them with the app and send the contents to
the cloud. If you used the Pilot FriXion pen, you can erase the notes by
heating it in the microwave, and then reuse it. Using only the Pilot
FriXion pen works in a similar way. You can make corrections on a page
by heating the ink in the microwave or by rubbing the eraser tip to
cause friction. Put it in the freezer and the ink will reappear.
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This July 18, 2018, photo shows a display of scented
markers and crayons in a Staples in Pittsburgh. Scented pencils and
markers are among the hot items in the school supplies aisle this year.
(AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
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Bullet journals that adults have adopted over the past few years are
making their way to the back-to-school aisles. The notebooks become a
mix between a diary, a wish list and a to-do list, and can help keep
track of homework, school projects and school events. Events can be
marked by an “O″ bullet, while tasks can be a dot.
— DECORATIVE TAPE: Adhesive tape including Japanese paper called
washi has been growing in popularity, and the trend has moved into
school supplies. Kids are using the tape to decorate their notebooks,
pens and pencils and other items, says Kaleigh Sands, a Staples
spokeswoman.
“It’s customizable,” Sands said, noting that kids want to personalize their own items.
— SCENTS AND COLORS: Elmer’s has been expanding beyond its famous
white school glue to purple, pink and blue glitter glue and even a slime
starter kit. Retailers are also widening their arrays of scented
pencils. Walmart has added such smells as bacon, grass, onion, mud and
pickle. Target’s scented pencils feature such smells as cola and jelly
doughnut.
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This July 18, 2018, photo shows a display of Rocketbooks
Wave notebook and online journals in a Staples store in Pittsburgh. The
Rocketbook Wave notebook runs about $25 works like a traditional pen and
paper version. But when pages are full, you can scan them with the app
and send the contents to the cloud. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
|
— LLAMAS VS. UNICORNS: Rainbow unicorns are seeing a bit of
competition. Llamas are in demand for decoration on backpacks and other
school supplies. Dayna Isom Johnson, a trend expert at Etsy, said the
search results for unicorns have more than doubled in the first six
months of this year compared to the same period last year. They’re still
way ahead, but the interest is llamas is growing — search results for
them more than tripled in that same time frame.
“It might be time for something new to come along,” Johnson added.
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