Pawn Shops NAICS 522299

Sep 29, 2025 - Pawn Shops Emerge as Back-To-School Shopping Destination

• Amid economic pressures and rising costs, pawn shops are emerging as back-to-school shopping destinations. According to a survey by the National Retail Federation, families plan to spend about 2% less this season compared to last year. Pawn shops are reporting a 4% increase in merchandise sales in Q2 2025, with notable growth in student-dependent categories like electronics and footwear. EZPawn, a chain with nearly 500 locations, attributes the uptick to families seeking affordable options for back-to-school necessities. Customers are finding significant discounts (up to 50% off retail prices) on laptops, musical instruments, and mini-fridges. Pawn shops are also seeing an increase in customers selling gold jewelry to fund school supplies, given that gold prices have shot up 27% since January 2025 to historic highs. While the back-to-school trend is positive for the pawn shop owner, a boost in pawn shop sales activity is usually a sign of a troubled economy.
• The spot price of gold has risen significantly this year, costing $3,431 per ounce in July 2025 versus a price of $2,666 at the beginning of January, a 33% increase. According to the Monex Precious Metals index, the price hit an all time high at around $3,500 in April of this year. A substantial portion of most pawn shops’ loans are secured by gold jewelry. Many shops also buy gold jewelry when gold prices are high and resell it for scrap value. Significant decreases in the price of gold can result in decreases in merchandising sales margins, inventory valuations, the value of collateral securing outstanding pawn loans, and the balance on pawn loans secured by gold jewelry.

• US-based pawn shop owner FirstCash is rapidly solidifying its place as a global industry player with its planned $340 million acquisition of the publicly-traded H&T Group PLC representing a big shift into the UK market. FirstCash was already a dominant player in the US and Latin American markets, with 3,000 locations and 20,000 employees. H&T is a well-known brand in the UK dating back to its founding in 1890. The chain has almost 300 pawn stores throughout England and specializes in high-end new and previously owned jewelry and watches. The deal will make FirstCash the largest publicly-traded pawn shop company in all of its markets and open up growth opportunities for further expansion in Europe. The $3.4 billion company has enjoyed robust growth over the past several years not only in pawn shop retailing (seven consecutive quarters of double-digit same store growth) but in no-credit payment and loan activities.
• US consumers owed $17.57 trillion in debt as of Q3 2024, per credit agency Experian, a 2.4% increase from the same period in 2023. While the debt is lower than it has been since 2022, digging deeper into the data reveals some unwelcome trends. Second mortgages and credit card debt - lending areas which typically deal with customers in financial straits and have high interest rates - rose the most in 2023-2024; 9.7% and 8.6%, respectively. Credit card debt alone averages out at about $10,000 per American family, according to consumer finance site WalletHub, and averages a 22% annual percentage rate. The biggest drop in debt came from student loads (-16.8%) due largely to loan forgiveness programs under President Biden. When Experian looked at debt by generation, Gen Z had the most (30%) while Gen X had the least (1.5%).