Back-to-School Spending Decreases

Back-to-school shoppers are buying cheap and less this year. Dr. Audrey Guskey, Professor of Marketing at Duquesne University says due to the downturn of our economy, parents are bargain shopping and “recycling” their kids’ back-to-school items.
She says this is having a huge impact on retailers because the back-to-school shopping season is their second largest revenue generator of the year, and is a big indicator of how Christmas shopping will go.
She says parents have started shopping a month in advance this year to find better bargains, and have spent about $17.4 billion, which is 8% less than last year.
Guskey says as a result retailers had to cut prices this year. She says businesses such as Wal-Mart and Target have done relatively better than department stores because shoppers are out looking for the cheapest deals.
Guskey has the “ABC” advice for shoppers: "A: All on sale! You can always find a good sale somewhere. B: Buy store brands. Store brands are always cheaper. C: Coupons. There are coupons online, in magazines, etc.—find them."