Survey predicts weak back-to-school shopping season

Reuters:

U.S. consumers will spend 8.5 percent to 12 percent less this year on back-to-school items than they did last year, as cash-strapped parents try to get children to wear last year's fashions, a retail industry monitor said on Tuesday.

A total of 34.4 percent of parents surveyed earlier this month said they planned to spend less this year compared to last year, according to a survey by America's Research Group and financial firm UBS. Parents continue to be concerned about job security, higher debt and dwindling income.

The survey led America's Research Group founder and CEO Britt Beemer to forecast the decline in back-to-school sales, which follows a 5 percent decline in 2008.

"Back-to-school spending will be a minor blip on the radar screen for retailers this year," Beemer said in a news release.

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