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08/10/2012 07:13 AM

Back to school spending expected to increase

Before we know it, school will be back in session. Parents are starting to get their students prepared on all levels from elementary to college. For many, that means back to school shopping, and parents are expected to do more of it this year. Our Iris St. Meran has more on what back to school dollars will be spent on.

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UNITED STATES -- It may be tough right now to think about going back to school for kids, but it may be the most economical to start thinking about what supplies may be needed now. The National Retail Federation says spending is going to increase for this school year.


A National Retail Federation report indicates the average person with children in grades K-12 will spend $688. That's up from $603 last year. That's attributed to more children going into elementary and middle school this fall.

The National Retail Federation also says parents who cut back in previous years on spending now have to stock up on supplies they may not have needed before.

To make things easy, Target and many other big retailers have their shelves already stocked with school supplies and designated sections of the stores back to school shopping.

The report says parents will spend the most on clothing, accessories and electronics.

Staff at the Fayetteville Target store say people are already checking some of those things off their list.

"Mainly, it's back to school supplies right now. They're picking up early they find toward the end of August some items are out of stock. Clothing is still plentiful at that time. So, they shop a little bit right now for clothing, but more for later for clothing," said Paul Bonacci, Hard Lines Department Executive Team Leader.

Some of the top sellers so far at the Fayetteville Target are backpacks and Bonacci says they're stocked with ones that have Justin Bieber on them. Some old standbys, like paper, pens and notebooks, have already been purchased.

If you do need to shop, he says come early, as some computer brands have already been sold out.