Back to School at Discount and Variety Stores

By June Allan Corrigan

You know summer is on the wane when back to school shopping starts up in earnest. The annual scramble to equip students for the coming year can get expensive, especially for households with two or more children. The thrifty turn to discount and variety stores which usually gear up for the season and where shoppers can frequently find some great bargains.

Backpacks top the best-seller list at Burns Bargain Center in Anderson, Ind. Essentials like glue, pencils, scissors and more follow close behind. “You just never know what you’re going to find here,” said Owner Kathy Mougeotte . When the calendar dictates, she centralizes all backto-school merchandise in an easy-to-spot display near the entrance of her 8,000-square-foot store. For shoppers, the hunt is half the fun.

Since Burns Bargain Center’s stock-in-trade is new, brand name merchandise at discount prices, there’s no need to offer special deals on back-toschool items. “Everything they find here is already specially priced,” explained Mougeotte. She does get the word out however, via Facebook and print media so shoppers know when to head in for the best selection.

While the thrill of finding great deals never gets old, the pandemic has clouded the picture for variety discount shoppers and store owners alike. “The way COVID has changed what we can buy, I don’t know from one minute to the next what I can get in here,” said Jerry Willis , who co-owns The Variety Store of Frog Pond in Oakboro, N.C., with his wife, Angela . “We have some school-related merchandise in here now. But I don’t how long it will last or when and if there will be something else to replace it because everything is so hit and miss these days.”

Chalk it up to supply chain woes. Shopkeepers are learning to ride with it and their customers are getting wise too. Whereas back-toContinued on page 142