Back-To-School Sales Forecast Up 5.4 Percent
The International Council of Shopping Centers (www.icsc.org)
is forecasting a sales increase of 5.4 percent for this year's back-to-school
spending season (mid-July to mid-September).
"Based on arithmetic alone, the expected July jump in back-to-school spending could be extremely strong," Michael P. Niemira, chief economist and director of research for ICSC, says. "Layer on some fundamental improvement in the consumer economy, including some pickup in the pace of earnings growth, and we should see a strong 7.6-percent rise for July, continued strength in August with a 5.7-percent increase, and a moderate 3-percent rise in September for back-to-school spending." Niemira adds that the projected increase will potentially be the strongest showing since 2005, which saw a 6.4-percent increase.
By category, family clothing is likely to show the strongest spurt
with a 6.5-percent increase. Electronics and shoes will not be far behind,
with each forecasted to post a 5-percent gain.
