In Spain plan to buy second-hand school supplies before the start of the 2026/2027 school year. This is according to a survey conducted by the classifieds platform Milanuncios in collaboration with Appinio and reported by 20minutos . According to the survey, 76 per cent of parents plan to make their purchases early to avoid the last-minute rush before school starts and manage their budgets better. Around 60 per cent expect to spend an average of €200 per child; 68 per cent say they have adjusted their budget compared with the previous year.
According to the study, demand is concentrated mainly on stationery and textbooks, followed by backpacks and clothing or school uniforms. In addition, 73 per cent of respondents say they have already sold, or are considering selling, supplies from previous school years. Their main reasons are to give products a second life (47 per cent) and recoup some of their original outlay (35 per cent).
The shift towards second-hand goods is consistent with seasonal spikes on online platforms: Milanuncios regularly reports rising searches for textbooks and laptops during the summer months. At the end of June, Europa Press also pointed to similar trends in the second-hand market. Official statistics on households’ actual spending on 2026/2027 school year are not currently available.
The figures are based on a commercially commissioned online survey and platform data; to the best of our knowledge, the methodology and representativeness have not been fully documented publicly. Statements about purchasing intentions and plans to sell should be attributed to the companies involved and the study findings they have communicated; they are not official surveys.
Implications and outlook: In the short term, increased reliance on second-hand goods may ease the burden on many family budgets and give the resale market a further boost. This could put pressure on sales for publishers and retailers of new teaching materials. Whether the trend becomes structurally entrenched depends on price movements, the availability of current textbooks on the second-hand market and school requirements; no reliable forecasts are currently available.
Editor: Daniel Mayer (Article created with AI assistance).