Back-to-school is big, and getting bigger

Australians were projected to spend around $2.7 billion on back-to-school in 2025, up 5.9 percent on the year before, at an average of about $525 per shopper (Australian Retailers Association and Roy Morgan, 2025). School uniforms and footwear were among the most commonly bought items, at 53 percent and 50 percent of shoppers.

Uniforms are a perfect storm for cost: specific to each school, replaced as kids grow, and needed by every family at the same time each January. That's also exactly why buying them pre-loved works so well.

The playbook

• Start early. The best pre-loved uniforms go before term starts. Look in November and December, not late January.
• Buy a size up. Kids grow through the year, so a slightly big jumper lasts longer.
• Prioritise the pricey pieces. Blazers, jumpers and sports uniforms cost the most new, so they're where second-hand saves the most.
• Check your school's specifics. Match the exact colour, logo and style your school requires.
• Sell last year's as you go. Outgrown uniforms in good nick are worth passing straight to the next family.

Why uniforms are ideal second-hand

Uniforms are made to be hard-wearing, so a pre-loved one usually has plenty of terms left in it. And because a uniform outgrown by one child at your school is exactly what another child at the same school needs, the match is natural. It just needs the two families to find each other.

References

The spending and category figures are from the Australian Retailers Association and Roy Morgan back-to-school research: projected spend of $2.7 billion in 2025, up 5.9 percent, with uniforms (53%) and footwear (50%) among the most-bought items.

• ARA and Roy Morgan, Back to School 2025 research
• ARA and Roy Morgan, Back to School 2024 research (prior-year comparison).

Related reading

• What happens to the school uniforms we bin each year
• The growth-spurt size guide: when kids jump sizes
• How to halve your baby costs without going without