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The shift from summer to the school year can happen almost overnight. Early wake-ups, packed calendars, homework, errands and extracurriculars leave families with less downtime and more to keep track of.
A new survey fielded by Morning Consult on behalf of Shipt finds that 60% of parents say the transition to fall routines feels overwhelming. The pressure shows up in unexpected places, from last-minute shopping trips and rushed dinners to bigger household expenses and time-consuming hosting duties.
Here are some of the ways families are adjusting as summer gives way to the busy months ahead.
The shopping list keeps growing
Back-to-school shopping may peak before the first day of school, but it doesn’t end there. New needs continue to pop up as families settle into the school year. Families make recurring trips to replenish school supplies, lunch and snack items and personal-care products.
The Shipt survey found that despite planning ahead for the return to school, unexpected purchases still come up. Seventy-one percent say that no matter how early they start, they always end up buying something at the last minute. The reasons?
- 37% say they simply forgot something
- 22% say the supply list changed
The other unexpected culprit that causes extra stress for parents? Growth spurts. As families transition out of summer sandals and into everyday shoes for the fall, kids may suddenly need a new size. According to the survey, 70% of parents say their child has outgrown their shoes over the summer without them realizing it.
That last-minute scramble makes a busy time of year even harder: 56% say it added stress to their household, while 33% of parents say fitting errands around shifting schedules is one of the most stressful parts of a typical fall week.
The dinner rush
The summer weekdays of leisurely barbecues and extended outdoor dinners become harder to squeeze in once the kids are back in school and extracurriculars. Dinner has to fit into a shrinking window between school, work, after-school activities and bedtime.
That’s why meal planning can be key for busy families this time of year.
KPMG’s Consumer Pulse Survey 2026 of 2,297 consumers found that 48% of respondents plan simpler meals with fewer ingredients and quicker prep. Having a few quick dinner options already prepared and at the ready for busy weeknights not only takes some pressure off mealtime, but it also helps parents avoid the dreaded “what do you want for dinner?” debate.
Budget pressure
The fall season is not only back-to-school time. It is also the start of after-school sports, football season, and with Halloween looming it’s the beginning of the holiday season, too. All of these activities and events mean one thing: more spending.
The KPMG consumer survey found that average back-to-school spending per child is expected to reach $324 this year compared with $294 last year. This comes at a time when 37% of consumers say they are stretched thinner financially than last year.
Budget strain doesn’t ease as the season goes on. Whether it’s hosting the soccer team dinner, throwing a college football watch party or inviting neighbors over for Halloween festivities, hosting can be costly, stressful and time-consuming.
Finding ways to lighten the load
Convenience is not just about “saving time” but about giving people the opportunity to spend it the way they want to.
For some families, that means using tools that shift recurring tasks out of the busiest parts of the day, from same-day grocery delivery and meal-planning tools to digital calendars and automated reminders. The goal is less about doing everything and more about making room for what matters most.
The Shipt survey also found that 60% of parents who host these fall events say they have spent more time prepping than actually enjoying the event. With already-tight schedules leaving little time for planning and last-minute preparations, more than half (57%) have realized they forgot something only after guests arrived.
The fall reset doesn’t end when school begins. It takes time for families to find their rhythm amid earlier mornings, busier days and more responsibilities. Rather than chasing a perfect routine, small adjustments can make the season feel a little more manageable.
Methodology: Morning Consult online survey of N=3,056 U.S. parents who are past-12-month same-day grocery delivery users, fielded June 22 to 25, 2026. Data are weighted to be representative of this population.
This story was produced by Shipt and reviewed and distributed by Stacker.
