Investopedia: Can Retailers Pass The Back To School Test?

Across the country, a traditional rite of fall has either begun or is soon coming - the resumption of school. With the return to school goes an annual pilgrimage to the malls and shopping centers to equip the little tykes with the clothing, electronics and other supplies that they need to start the school year. For many retailers, this is the second-biggest shopping event of the year (after Christmas), but ongoing economic malaise may make this a tougher test this year. (If you have to do back-to-school shopping, check out Best Back-To-School Deals.)


Another Sluggish Season?
According to surveys from the National Retail Federation, this is not looking like an especially robust year. More specifically, it looks like per-family spending may dip slightly from last year (by about half a percent) to about $604. While this is certainly better than the 2009 malaise of $549 per family, it marks another year where retailers cannot rely on fatter wallets to boost their own profits.

Absent more money sloshing around the market in general, retailers will have to pull out the stops to lure shoppers into their stores. Going back to the NRF survey, customers are saying that they will rely more on discount stores, online shopping and sales, but they will not necessarily abandon the name brands and up-market products altogether.


Continue by clicking the link:
http://stocks.investopedia.com/stock-analysis/2011/Can-Retailers-Pass-The-Back-To-School-Test-WMT-TGT-AMZN-AAPL-ANF-ARO-GPS0822.aspx