Moms of kids with younger children are significantly less likely than moms with older children to reduce their back-to-school spending this year, but most moms in both groups will still be using coupons and seeking deals, according to a survey of US moms by The Parenting Group.

The study found that US moms of pre-schoolers (ages 3-5) are less likely than moms of school-age kids (ages 6-12) to cut spending in such categories as clothing, backpacks, personal-care items, sports equipment, school lunches, snacks and after-school activities:

Despite this difference in moms’ intentions based on the ages of their children, the study did find that most are planning to take at least some measures to ensure they get the most value for their back-to-school dollars. Among the most popular cost-saving tactics among all moms:

• 75% plan to use coupons
• 70% will stock up on school supplies when they’re on sale during the summer
• 48% are switching from brand-name items to store-brand or generic products
• 43% are using hand-me-downs instead of buying new clothing for kids
• 42% plan to have their kids re-use last year’s backpack

Children Don’t Have Much Influence

When asked how much influence children have on their buying decisions in certain categories, survey respondents claimed to have most control in all but the backpack category. More than one-third (34%) of moms let their children select their own backpacks, while they report being the primary decision maker in all other categories.