CUMBERLAND, R.I. (WPRI) — Grace and Abigail McIntyre have their backpacks filled with items for the upcoming school year.

The sisters picked out new backpacks, notebooks and pencil holders.

“My favorite thing in my backpack is probably highlighters,” said Abigail, who’s heading into the third grade.

Their mom, Dawn McIntyre, said she helped the two girls shop online and found some good deals.

“Last year I know I bounced around between Target, Amazon to see the best price, but Target did it for us,” she said.

But McIntyre actually ended up spending less on school supplies than other families. According to the National Retail Federation, those with kids in elementary through high school are expected to spend an average of $890 this year. That’s about $25 more than the previous record set last year, and an increase of nearly $200 since 2019.

Mcintryre said she spent about $150 on each of her daughters.

Retail expert Kristen Regine told 12 News that prices have gone up, especially for electronics.

“It’s the highest that we’ve seen,” Regine said.

She explained how some families are looking to reuse items from last year to help cut back on spending.

“You’re also seeing kind of an emphasis on, ‘Do we really need that? Do I have to buy those markers again for the fifth time?’ It’s taking inventory,” Regine said.

For Grace and Abigail, they are just excited to get back into the classroom and learn about their favorite subjects.

“Probably doing a lot of science,” Abigail said.