Mother's Day Features

No. 1 On Back-To-School Shopping Lists This Year: Bargains

Author: Jim Liebelt, Senior Editor of Publications - HomeWord

Coupons and discounts will be the hottest styles for back-to-school shoppers this year.

Summer is winding down, and retailers throughout the land are gearing up for back-to-school season with new youth fashions, nifty office supplies and steep bargains. "All eyes are shifting to back-to-school -- it's the only catalyst where consumers have to go out and spend between now and the holiday shopping season," said Ken Perkins, president of research company Retail Metrics Inc. But "you look at things heading into the season, and the macro picture on the spending front isn't promising. It's really going to be need-based, bargain-based, discount-based shopping."

The depressed economy will cause 85% of Americans to make changes to their back-to-school plans this year, according to a survey released Tuesday by the National Retail Federation trade group.

The average family with students in kindergarten through high school is expected to spend $548.72 on back-to-school merchandise this year, a decline of 7.7% from $594.24 last year, the survey found.

Total back-to-school spending is expected to reach $17.42 billion.

Source: Los Angeles Times
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-back-to-school15-2009jul15,0,2866418.story

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About Jim Liebelt:
Jim is a 20+ year youth ministry veteran and is the Senior Editor of Publications for HomeWord, including oversight of the "Good Advice Parent Newsletter," Today’s HomeWord daily devotional, and HomeWord’s Culture Brief. Jim is also a presenter for HomeWord's parent seminar, "Building Healthy Morals and Values." Jim joined the HomeWord staff in 1998, and has served over the years in various pastoral ministries, as a youth ministry and parenting seminar speaker, an adjunct youth ministry instructor at Gordon College, a national presenter for Group Magazine Live, and has served on the council of the New England Network of Youth Ministries.

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