MMR Proprietary Dealer Research
Dealers enter back-to-school 2026 cautiously.
MMR’s 2026 dealer survey finds a mostly steady but guarded back-to-school outlook, with pricing, online competition, economic uncertainty and school participation shaping expectations.
24 participating dealers contributed answers. Because the response pool is small and self-selected, these results describe participating dealers and are not presented as national retail totals.
Season expectations
Most frequently selected challenges
What the responses indicate
Nearly half of dealers answering the expectations question selected “About the same.” Stronger expectations outnumbered weaker expectations, but open responses repeatedly described caution around prices, household spending, school enrollment and online competition. Band-and-orchestra rentals, instruments and accessories appeared repeatedly in product-category responses, underscoring the importance of school music participation to the fall retail cycle.
Dealers also described earlier educator engagement, digital and social promotion, rental incentives, community events and inventory adjustments. MMR will use these signals to guide follow-up interviews and subsequent dealer pulse surveys.
Methodology and limitations
The survey was distributed to 10,557 MMR audience records. 24 distinct recipients submitted one or more answers, and 23 answered the season-expectations question. Participation was voluntary, questions allowed different response counts, and the sample was not weighted. Percentages are calculated only from nonblank answers to the stated question. Free-text responses were reviewed for recurring themes; individual identities and contact details are not published here.
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