Jul 25, 2009

Retailers hope for back-to-school boostBy Don NelsonOnlineAthens.com

Like most retailers throughout America, Jody Tanner’s two Bulldog Sporting Goods stores in Athens rely heavily on back-to-school business, especially since it is the industry’s second biggest selling period after the Christmas holidays.

“We really depend on back to school, so we’re hoping for an upswing,” Tanner said recently. “It is our second biggest time of the year, second only to holiday sales, and it’s a little more extended since schools stagger their start dates.”

Tanner isn’t alone in hoping for the best, after the National Retail Federation’s 2009 Back-to-School Consumer Intentions and Actions Survey predicted that the average family with students in kindergarten through grade 12 is expected to spend $548 on school merchandise, a decline of 7.5 percent from $594 in 2008. That’s worrisome news for an industry that has enjoyed at least five straight years of increases.

Total spending on back to school is expected to reach $17.42 billion, while the 2009 back-to-college and back-to-school spending combined will total $47.50 billion, according to the NRF survey, conducted by BIGresearch.

Tanner has noticed that shoppers seemed standoffish lately.

“It seems like this year people are either not going to spend as much or they are waiting until the tax-free weekend,” he said. “We’re not seeing any upsurge.”

OnlineAthens.com