Back-to-school sales are expected to be flat as parents practice restraint, according to National Retail Federation (NRF)
NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay on CNBC’s Squawk Box talking about what back-to-school projections mean for the economy
As they prepare for their annual back-to-school shopping trip, parents this year will make children scour their closets before agreeing to buy any new jeans, pencils or backpacks. According to NRF’s 2011 Back-to-School survey conducted by BIGresearch, families with children in grades K-12 will spend an average of $603.63 on apparel, school supplies and electronics, within a few dollars of last year’s $606.40 average. Total spending on grades K-12 is expected to reach $22.8 billion (extrapolation of U.S. population of adults 18+.)
Four out of five back-to-college shoppers said that economy was impacting spending.
NRF’s 2011 Back to School and Back to College Consumer Intentions and Actions Surveys were designed to gauge consumer behavior and shopping trends related to back to school spending and back to college spending. The surveys were conducted for NRF by BIGresearch. The poll of 8,684 consumers was conducted from July 1-6, 2011. The consumer polls have a margin of error of plus or minus 1.0 percent.
