Lisa Ward was startled at the prices on sneakers when she recently went back-to-school shopping for her twin boys.

“All of them were at least $10 or $20 more than last year. That pissed me off, but I didn’t have a choice,” said Ward, a finance professional who lives outside of Atlanta.

After buying two pairs of sneakers for each of her growing 15-year-old boys, Ward was suddenly out $300.

“People are starting to realize how expensive stuff is. Before, the school would say, ‘You have the wrong calculator.’ Now, they’re saying, ‘Bring whatever you’ve got,’” Ward said, referring to math class.

Ward is hardly the only parent facing sticker shock as they shop for kids going back to school.

Online prices on apparel and accessories like shoes, bags and belts surged 9% year-over-year in Jul

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