Plenty of BTS dollars yet to be spent

-- Home Textiles Today, 8/18/2009 7:20:00 AM

Washington – Most families have spent less than half of their budget on back-to-school/college, according to new research from the National Retail Federation.

The study, conducted by Bigrearch, found the average American family had completed 41.6% of their shopping as of Aug. 11. Since this is the first time NRF has fielded a mid-season BTS study, no comparable year figures are available.

Those who have begun their shopping said sales or coupons have been a factor in 47.8% of their purchases so far. Other influencers in determined where to shop included advertising inserts (42.1%), newspapers (32.2%), in-store promotions (32.1%), word of mouth (29.9%) and direct mail (16.2%). 

“Price is an important factor when it comes to back to school shopping, but there are other aspects to consider,” said Mike Gatti, executive director of the Retail Advertising and Marketing Association, a division of NRF. “Unique and creative marketing campaigns coupled with the right prices will be the key to driving sales as the summer comes to a close.”

College students and their families ranked Wal-Mart, Target, Amazon.com, JCPenney, Staples and Office Depot as having the best back-to-college websites. According to the survey, 14.2% saying the websites influenced the decision to shop at that store and another 38.5% said they already were planning to shop there.