SmallBusinessNewz

Whether or not children are still forced to endure old "uphill in the snow both ways" stories, parents are giving in and buying them more stuff for the new school year, according to the National Retail Federation.  Sales are supposed to be up by quite a lot, in fact.

The average American family supposedly spent $548.72 on back-to-school supplies last year.  This year, the NRF believes closer to $606.40 will change hands per family to cover stuff like clothes, backpacks, and calculators, which is an increase of an impressive 10.5 percent.

Many people are supposed to delay their purchases until the first week of school or later, too, perhaps spreading out the positive impact, and more shoppers are supposed to head online, perhaps reducing the edge held by big retailers with a store on every corner.

Anyway, the president and CEO of the NRF, Matt Shay, stated, "We are encouraged by the fact that parents are eager to start their back to school shopping this year . . ."  He also said, "[T]he industry still remains cautiously optimistic about recovery."

The one problem, especially where small businesses are concerned, is that shoppers will continue to be sensitive to prices.  So the creation of sales, free shipping offers, and coupons may prove necessary in order to catch the average person's eye.

Targeting kids with advertisements could be an effective strategy, too, since the NRF found that 61.1 percent of adults admitted their children influence the majority of back-to-school purchases.