For the 2014 back-to school season, 35% of consumers will shop for back-to-school supplies online, while 34% will shop in-store and 33% will do their shopping using both channels, according to a study from e-commerce marketing technology provider HookLogic and polling company Qriously. Figures for back-to-college shopping tilt more strongly in the favor of online.

Looking ahead, 69% of back-to-school shoppers plan to spend about the same in 2014 as they did in 2013, while 19% intend to spend more. August is the most popular month to start back-to-school shopping. Many top retailers report back-to-school as one of their busiest times of year, often second to the Christmas holiday season.

There tends to be a lot of talk about intense price competition and a highly promotional climate every back-to-school season. Intense price competition during back-to-school season is nothing new, but the competition now occurs at a time of an increasingly dynamic online world. The mentioned study shows that more consumers prefer to do their back-to-school and back-to-college shopping online. Leading companies need to promote sales and stay ahead of the competition.

According to Chain Store Guide’s Consumer Spending Report, 24.2% of adults reported that they will use a mobile internet device or personal computer for retail shopping this month. Chain Store Guide researches a wide variety of specialized information on companies in the apparel industry, along with other types of retailers. Chain Store Guide’s complete family of apparel products includes Apparel Specialty Stores, Department Stores and Discount Stores & Specialty Retailers.