Back-to-school shopping arrives mid-winter as schools begin reopening

It’s February, temperatures are freezing, there’s snow on the ground – and it turns out a lot of parents are going back to school shopping.

It’s because many local districts have either recently brought kids back into schools or they’re planning to do it shortly, and as a result, parents like Tiffani Conklin are bundling-up to take care of what’s typically a summer-time tradition.

Download the FOX 5 DC News App for Local Breaking News and Weather

"I just got, you know, backpacks, I got the normal notebooks, pencils and stuff," Conklin told FOX 5 Friday. "I’m not exactly sure what they’re gonna need because of everything, you know, that’s going on, but I started with the most important stuff."

She’s far from alone.

WalletHub Senior Analyst Jill Gonzalez said they’re seeing a lot of back-to-school shopping right now, and even though it’s February, there are still some good deals to be had. She recommended hitting big-box retailers like Target, Walmart, or Amazon and added that if you really want to make the most of that shopping, you might want to take advantage of credit card deals too. Gonzalez mentioned that a lot of cards offer sign-up bonuses or cashback rewards, including the credit cards offered by retailers like Amazon and Target.

READ MORE: Virginia schools not likely to meet 5 days a week in-person learning goal

"Parents’ wallets always take a hit when it comes to back to school shopping but now that you add covid onto that, and that you add unemployment onto that, working from home, snow in general, you know all of these things have affected people’s finances so now more than ever is a good time to take advantage of any deals that you possibly can," Gonzalez explained.

READ MORE: Montgomery County educators pass lack of confidence resolution over school reopening plan

WalletHub also found that 71 percent of parents said covid changed their attitude towards back-to-school spending, with almost four in five parents adding that they planned to spend the same amount of money or less this year as compared to years past.