Reports Praise Back-To-School

NEW YORK CITY-Consumers will spend more this year than last year on back to school items, according to Port Washington, NY-based research firm NPD Group. Shoppers plan to spend an average of $372 per child, up from $367, according to a poll of about 35,000 people NPD took this summer.

Target, Wal-Mart and other mass-merchandise retailers are the first choices for shoppers, followed by specialty retailers that target teens. The best-selling items will be school supplies, apparel, apparel accessories and footwear, the report says.

Shoppers will most seriously consider an item’s value before making a purchase. “The quest for ‘value’ remains very high on the reason-to-purchase list, due to the increase in fuel prices and the impact it has on the mid- to lower-income brackets,” says Marshall Cohen, NPD’s chief industry analyst, in a statement.