The holiday is over, and for 6 out of 10 parents, back-to-school preparations bring more stress than joy
Reveal Market Resources, study no. 202
The latest study conducted by Reveal Marketing Research analyzes how parents feel and prepare for the 2025-2026 school year, which starts on September 8.
- Most parents are stressed while waiting for the new school year (57%), especially mothers (63%) compared to fathers (50%).
- The expenses of starting school are a financial burden for 1 in 2 parents.
- Of the parents who spent more this year compared to last year, 53% estimate an increase of 10–20%, and 28% of 20–40%.
What parents and children feel while waiting for the 2025-2026 school year
According to the latest study conducted by Reveal Marketing Research, 57% of parents say they feel stress as the new school year approaches, a higher percentage among mothers (63%), compared to fathers (50%). On the other hand, 33% of parents say they are relaxed, especially those with incomes of over 7,000 lei (44%).
As for children, almost half (48%) are described by parents as having a neutral attitude towards the start of school, 32% show enthusiasm, and 20% experience anxiety and worry.
“The level of tension of parents increases as incomes decrease. According to the results of the study, this year the budget allocated to school preparations is either higher than last year (37%) or approximately at the same level (38%). This increase does not necessarily reflect higher consumption, but rather the adjustment needed to cover inflation, with half of parents saying they prefer to remain cautious and purchase only the products that are strictly necessary for their children.” said Marius Luican, General Manager of Reveal Marketing Research.
The expenses of starting school are a financial burden for 1 in 2 parents.
Regarding the implications of expenses at the beginning of the school year, 54% of parents agree, to a large and very large extent, that they represent a significant part of their monthly income, 52% say that they have led to the postponement of other expenses, 45% that they are difficult to cover from their monthly income, and 43% that they have had to access savings or borrow money.
According to the study’s data, of the parents who spent more this year, 53% estimate that these costs have increased by 10–20% compared to last year, and 28% believe that they have increased by 20–40%.
In order to adapt to this new economic reality, parents have developed various saving strategies, and the most often mentioned were buying the bare necessities (55%), choosing products on sale or using loyalty cards (43%), reusing supplies and clothes from previous years (29%) and choosing their own brands or more accessible brands (25%).
As for the preferred locations for purchases, most parents opt for hypermarkets and supermarkets (64%), physical bookstores and stationery stores (35%), online stores (19%) or discounters, bazaars and markets (19%).
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About Reveal Marketing Research
Reveal Marketing Research is a full-service market research company, specialized in marketing research, sociological studies, customer insight, business strategy, market development. With expertise in over 20 industries, Reveal Marketing Research believes that market research is the basis for the right decisions and brand positioning. Qualitative and quantitative solutions have been helping companies in Romania and other European countries for 17 years.
Reveal Market Resources, study no. 202: Reveal Market Resources is a data hub that includes free studies published in order to support the marketing and communication market in Romania.
Methodology: The Reveal Marketing Research study was conducted online between 14-20.08.2025 on a representative sample for the universe of people aged 18+, internet users, from urban areas. The sample size was 1058 respondents, and the maximum sampling error is +/-3.1% at a 95% confidence level.