August 2004     All I Want For Term Time Is …

A sneak at a teacher’s shopping list reveals a lot about their preparations for the new school term, according to office supplies retailer Staples.

A large percentage of the summertime trade to the retailer is due to teachers stocking up on new supplies for September.

Sales to teachers of furniture items such as chairs, desks and filing cabinets have increased by over 15% on last year, signalling the importance teachers are placing on updating their classroom furniture.

“A teacher’s desk is the figurehead of the classroom,” comments Donna Chappelle, Marketing Manager for Staples. “Having a comfortable chair, good size desk and handy filing drawers or cabinets for organising day to day classes makes the job just that bit easier.”

Essentials such as calculators, print cartridges and handheld diaries scored second highest on the shopping list. Keeping spare calculators handy for children appears to be a plus for teachers and the popularity for handheld electronic organisers has grown in stature amongst teachers and children alike – up over 10% on previous years.

There’s been a flurry of teachers purchasing or upgrading their desktop PCs over the summer – although the trend towards laptops has increased and now accounts for almost half of the total computer spend. New software, in particular key stage learning study guides have also proved popular.

Shopping in bulk for stationery supplies such as coloured art paper and decorative craft material such as glitter and stickers, hints at some creative and practical lesson planning ahead.

Staying organised during term time helps to relieve the pressure on teachers, which could account for the number of filing and organising folders they bought – over 10,000 in July.

More unusual stationery such as shaped post-it notes, brightly coloured writing pens, motivating calendars and stickers, globes, maps and atlases have also made their way onto shopping lists this summer.