From Promo Magazine…
The average family with students in grades kindergarten through 12 is expected to spend $548.72 on school merchandise, a decline of 7.7% from $594.24 in 2008.
Total spending on back to school is expected to reach $17.42 billion, according to a National Retail Federation survey conducted by BIGresearch.
When combined with back-to-college spending the total rises to $47.5 billion.
As for college students, parents will spend an average of $618.12 this year, up 3% over last year’s $599.38.
The tanking economy is to blame, with four out of five Americans (85%) having made some changes to back-to-school plans this year as a result, the survey found.
56.2% of respondents are searching for sales on a more frequent basis
49.6% plan to spend less overall
41.7% are purchasing more store brand/generic products
40% are planning to increase their use of coupons
11.4% indicated that children will cut back on extracurricular activities or sports
5.7% say that the economy is impacting decisions to send children to a private or public school.
Not surprisingly, the one bright spot for spending will be electronics, including personal laptops and desktop computers as those items become increasingly affordable. Spending on these items is expected to increase 11%.
Born Curious 
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