IE Business Daily Business news for the Inland Empire.
School is just around the corner, but some people are apparently taking their time with their back-to-school shopping.
Families with children in kindergarten through 12th grades on average report having completed only half of their shopping for the upcoming school year, according to data released Wednesday by the National Retail Federation.
Retailers shouldn’t panic, however. That’s essentially the same number that was reported by the Washington, D.C.- based trade association exactly one year ago.
“As expected, families are carefully measuring where, when and how they should spend on fall apparel items, school supplies, electronics and other necessities,” said Matthew Shay, the association’s president and chief executive officer, in a statement. “Later summer promotions and sales tax holidays are likely contributing to the delay in back-to-school shopping this year, which means the next few weeks could be exceptionally busy for retailers large and small.”
Nineteen point five percent of those surveyed said they have not started their back-to-school shopping, while 13.3 percent reported having finished theirs, the federation stated.
