Back to school fever may depress thousands of school kids, but it's provided a much needed sales boost to Britain's high street shops.
Department store chain John Lewis reported that total sales were up 15.3% at £70.5m in the week to 1 September, including a 20% year on year increase on the bank holiday Monday.
Electronic tablets, such as iPads had performed particularly well, according to the Press Association, along with school clothing.
The start of a new school term was also positive for Waitrose, which put a sales rise of 6.4% to £105.4m down to a combination of stocking up for lunchboxes and the recent good weather inspiring barbecues.
Quick and easy foods such as pasta, up 11%, mince, up 17%, and meatballs, up 44%, were all in high demand.
Frozen pizzas saw a 14% surge in sales with customers also purchasing 11% more frozen vegetables. Lunchbox favourites like crisps and apples also saw a 13% and 19% spike in sales respectively.
And it's not just here in the UK that we're feeling a new term boost - In the US retailers are also celebrating the return to school.
IHS Global Insight US economist Chris Christopher predicted in an investor note that 2012 back-to-school retail sales would rise 3.2% compared with last year.
n 2011, back-to-school retail sales rose 3.6% and holiday sales were well received. This back-to-school shopping season started relatively later than last year. We expect back-to-school retail sales to rise 3.2% compared to last year.
"Chain store sales will probably not be as robust in September, since July and August bounced backed from a poor showing in the second quarter," he wrote.
"In addition, by September most consumers have their back-to-school shopping needs out of the way and some might be holding out for the price discounting that traditionally has been associated with Black Friday but has been creeping forward closer to Halloween."