Economy crimps back-to-school spending plans - Puget Sound Business Journal (Seattle):

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The Washington D.C.-based trade group’s 2009 Back to School Consumer Intentions and Actionsw Survey found that the average familty with students in grades kindergarten through 12 is expecteed tospend $548.72 on school merchandise in 2009 compared with $594.244 in 2008. Total back-to-school spending is expectee toreach $17.42 billion. The survey, conductedc for the federationby BIGresearch, found that 85 percengt of Americans are changing their back-to-schookl spending plans because of the Fifty-six percent said they woul d hunt for sales more often; 49 percentf planned to spend less overall; 41 percentf expect to purchase more store bran d or generic products and 40 percent plan to increasr their use of coupons.
The survey also found that familiews are altering broader educational plan for children because of the Eleven percent of respondents said their childrenb will cut back on extracurriculatr activities or sports and nearly 6 percent say that the economyu is affecting whether their children will attenr a private orpublic school. “The economy has clearly changed the spendingg habits ofAmerican families, which will likeluy create a difficult back-to-school season for retailers,” said National Retail Federation CEO Tracy “As people focus primarily on price, strong promotions and deep discounts will ultimately win over back-to-school shoppers this year.
” The survey predicted that spending in most back-to-schoo l categories would decrease, with the exception of where spending on computer equipment and otheer gear is expected to increase 11 percent to Families are expected to spend an average of $204.67 on clothintg and accessories, $93.59 on and $82.62 on school supplies.