Canadians are spending more on getting their kids ready to head back-to-school this year, than they did three years ago.

According to a recent Bank of Nova Scotia study on back-to-school spending, 39% of parents surveyed will spend between $200 and $500 per child, while another 32% will spend between $100 and $200. Of those who are planning to spend more, the average increase is $136.

“Traditionally, the ‘back-to-school’ period for grades K-12 is second only to the Christmas sales season in terms of importance to domestic retailers,” said Adrienne Warren, senior economist, Scotiabankm, in a release. “Canadians are financially well prepared to head ‘back-to-the-shops’ — employment conditions are relatively buoyant, borrowing costs are still close to historically low levels, and competitive pricing conditions persist throughout the retail marketplace.”

According to the survey, of those households polled that will be spending more on ‘back-to-school’ this year, the majority of money spent will be on clothing (56%) followed by school supplies (32%).

Only 1.6% of parents surveyed will be spending additional money on computer programs and even fewer (0.9%) on technology for their kids.

“Canadians are in a buying mood, especially in the western provinces,” said Warren. “In fact, retail sales volumes nationally were 6% higher than a year ago at mid-year, the strongest performance in almost four years.”

The results from this survey are based on telephone interviews conducted among a nationwide sample of 1,500 adults, 18 years of age or older, from August 2-7. The research was conducted by Wave Research.