The story of inflation, as told through your child’s backpack

Back-to-school shopping hasn’t been easy this year for Lauren Cyr.

The mother of three has searched for deals and spread out her shopping across multiple paychecks. Still, the 31-year-old sees higher price tags on everything from backpacks to paper — and the summer ritual is squeezing her family budget more than it did in prior years.

“Before I even went shopping, I will tell you, I had a full-on panic attack and cried,” said Cyr, a customer service manager living in Ruskin, Florida. “It’s just a headache.”

Cyr isn’t alone. An average family with children in elementary through high school plans to spend a record $890.07 on back-to-school items this year, according to a survey of more than 7,800 consumers released last month by the National Retail Federation and Prosper Insights and Analytics. Total spending on school-related items for students in these grades is expected to climb to a new high of $41.5 billion.

One silver lining: Back-to-school shoppers were less likely to say they are spending more because of higher prices in 2023 than in 2022, according to the NRF data. Instead, consumers have reported that purchases of more supplies and bigger-ticket items have contributed to higher spending this year.

Still, rising costs can leave millions of Americans in a lurch as they try to fill the backpacks of school-aged children this year. While inflation has broadly slowed, consumers may not feel any respite as prices of school supplies are still rising.

“For the average family, there’s going to be sticker shock,” said Jay Zagorsky, a professor at Boston University’s Questrom School of Business.

He said shoppers should not insist on buying a specific item or brand as prices rise: “By being flexible in what you’re purchasing, you can actually come away with both a happy child and a happy wallet.”

CNBC used the producer price index — a closely followed gauge of inflation on businesses measured by the Bureau of Labor Statistics — to track how…