EXEC: Coresight Research Highlights Athleisure as Top Back-To-School Trend

Coresight Research’s “U.S. Back to School 2026” survey identifies athleisure as the leading fashion trend for the 2026 BTS season, with 37.6 percent of parents citing it as the trend they are most excited about for their school kids this season. Like last year, Nike and Adidas continue to lead BTS apparel brand preferences, with Old Navy, Levi’s and Under Armour rounding out the Top 5 most sought-after apparel brands. 

The findings were derived from two surveys conducted on June 3 and June 5, from a combined sample of 1,010 U.S. adults aged 18 or older who have children aged 5–to-17 and indicated that their child/children would be attending school or be homeschooled in the coming school year. 

The survey found that about 52 percent of parents said they “want their children to look fashionable this BTS season, reflecting interest in athleisure.” After athleisure, the top BTS apparel and fashion trends were collar tees/shirts, cited by 28.4 percent of parents. Coresight said this underscores a “strong desire for comfortable, casual styles.” 

Also seeing solid demand for back-to-school apparel was minimalist/monochrome fashion, cited by 25.1 percent of respondents; preppy style, 23.3 percent; bold prints and patterns, 23.1 percent; and retro/vintage styles, also 23.1 percent. 

When it comes to essential BTS clothing items, consumers prioritize practical choices: pants (63.3 percent), shirts/blouses (55.1 percent) and outerwear (46.7 percent) were identified as the must-have items. Coresight Research said in the study, “Thus, while athleisure and comfort-focused trends generate the most excitement, traditional staples, such as pants and shirts, remain the most necessary purchases for BTS wardrobes.” 

Nike/Adidas Lead BTS Brand Popularity 
Among brands seeing strong interest around back-to-school selling, Nike remains the most popular brand overall, with 60.4 percent of shoppers planning to buy from it during the 2026 BTS season, while Adidas follows at 43.0 percent, up 1.4 percentage points year-over-year. Old Navy and Levi’s also rank among the top five, with Old Navy seeing a notable 7.8-PPT increase this year, which Coresight said reflects the retailer’s strength as a value-focused apparel retailer. 

Walmart’s private-label offerings slipped to sixth place this year from fifth last year, outpaced by Under Armor. Among other brands in the active-lifestyle space, Puma ranked 8th, Champion 13th and Columbia Sportswear 16th.
 

Breaking it down by age groups, Coresight found that Nike was more popular with high school kids than with middle and elementary school students. Adidas was more popular among younger students than among high school students. 

Old Navy’s relative appeal was also noticeably weaker among parents of high schoolers than among those of elementary and middle schoolers. Private-label offerings from Target and Walmart were less popular among middle- and high-school students, likely due to these children’s brand-conscious preferences. Hanes showed weakness among parents shopping for middle schoolers, as they are more likely than younger kids to opt for trendier clothing over comfort-focused options. 

Overall, Coresight’s survey estimates that total U.S. BTS spending will increase by a solid 5.9 percent year-over-year in 2026, to $36.1 billion, driven by inflation. However, the average expected spend per child is set to be $340 this year, down from $378 in 2025, “signaling selective budgeting.” 

Coresight stated in its report, “Back-to-school (BTS) 2026 is shaping up as a value-led growth season, with consumers shopping earlier, buying more selectively and using digital tools— including AI, to stretch every dollar. While shoppers may sound cautious in their stated expectations, recent retail earnings and higher tax refunds suggest many still have spending power and are willing to deploy it. Retailers that combine sharp value messaging, convenient trip consolidation and tech-enabled deal discovery will be best positioned to win share.” 

Coresight Research estimates that the back-to-school market grew from $26.1 billion in 2020, representing a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 5.6 percent. Beyond inflation-led price growth, its 5.9 percent growth estimate for the 2026 back-to-school season reflects “resilient household spending capacity and continued demand for school categories.” 

Coresight stated, “We point to the recent resilience of consumer spending, reflected in solid retail sales growth and a strong first-quarter earnings season as indications of consumers’ willingness to spend at retail. This is in the context of highly elevated tax refunds, which were up by about 18 percent, or $50 billion, versus the prior year, as of early May (latest reported by the IRS).” 

Among key categories, Coresight expects apparel, footwear and accessories, which the research firm noted as particularly benefiting from tax refunds, to be up 6.5 percent year-over-year this back-to-school season. Electronics, including computing, which has benefited from a renewal cycle in laptops, is projected to be up 5.1 percent, while school supplies, the largest BTS category, is expected to gain 4.8 percent year-over-year. 

The firm’s survey also found that mass merchandisers hold a strong lead in BTS shopping destinations. Mass merchandisers are the most popular retailers among BTS shoppers, with close to seven in 10 consumers planning to buy from them, leading by 22.3 percentage points over the second-ranked online-only retailers. Shoe retailers came in third in the report, 

The survey found Walmart to be the top retailer where parents plan to shop for back-to-school, cited by 58.6 percent of respondents, well above rivals Target (39.4 percent) and Amazon (29.4 percent). Walmart and Target show marginally stronger appeal among parents of primary school-age children. Amazon under-indexes in BTS compared with other seasonal events, such as the holiday season (when Amazon was the top retailer for shopping intentions), and in key categories such as clothing and footwear (where Amazon is also the most shopped). Amazon lost the top position to BTS. 

Rounding out the Top 5 were Old Navy, cited by 24.5 percent of parents surveyed, and Family Dollar, at 22.2 percent. The survey found that Dick’s Sporting Goods, benefiting from its premium brand mix, stands out to high school shoppers, while leading off-price retailer TJX underperforms with that group.

Other findings from the survey: 

• BTS shopping begins early this year: Coresight’s survey data suggest that 61.8 percent of respondents will start their BTS shopping before August, similar to last year’s percentage. 
• BTS shoppers plan to spend more in 2026 but buy carefully: In both dollar and unit terms, over 90 percent of consumers plan to spend the same or more this BTS season than they did last year. Yet the gap between those planning to spend more in dollars and those planning to buy more in units suggests that consumers expect higher prices to absorb part of their budgets rather than translate directly into larger baskets. With higher income, urban consumers are most likely to spend more than last year. 
• Value is the entry ticket, but reliability wins the basket: Low prices are the top factor influencing retailer’s choice, cited by nearly three in five shoppers. up sharply versus last year. However, product quality and availability rank highly, indicating that BTS shoppers want affordable, dependable, accessible products that are in stock when they need them. 
• Inflation drives shopping strategies: Half (50.6 percent) of respondents to the BTS survey indicated that higher gas prices will affect how they shop for BTS this year, and 59.6 percent indicated that higher prices overall would limit how much they buy/spend on BTS this year. Among those for whom gas prices will affect how they shop, 50.4 percent plan to make fewer shopping trips, and 48.8 percent are likely to shop more at one-stop retailers such as Walmart, Target, or Amazon. Among inflation-impacted shoppers, 58.5 percent are planning to look for promotions or bulk discounts. Meanwhile, 53.7 percent plan to choose lower-priced brands or private labels. 
• In-store channel popularity accelerates: This year, more than four in five consumers plan to shop in-store for BTS product, up slightly (3.4 PPTs) from last year. Online delivery is expected by 61.2 percent of respondents, and BOPIS (buy online, pick up in-store) by 37.3 percent, each declining slightly year-over-year, suggesting that shoppers still value the “immediacy, product visibility and touch-and-feel benefits of stores during BTS.” 
• AI has emerged as a value-discovery tool: Some 56.3 percent of BTS shoppers have used, or may use, AI tools such as ChatGPT or AI chatbots on retailer websites to help with BTS shopping this year; 56.1 percent of AI tool users are using or expect to use AI tools or chatbots to compare prices across retailers; 49.6 percent are using AI to find deals.