Back-to-school shopping seems promising for retailers

The upcoming back-to-school shopping season looks good for retailers, but mostly because last year was so bad, says Port Washington-based market research firm NPD Group.

NPD says a survey it took found that this year 38 percent of the respondents said they plan to spend less on back-to-school supplies and clothes.

Last year, 44 percent said they planned to spend less. Also, 55 percent said they planned to shop in more stores this year, compared with 53 percent last year.

"Those two things point to better results this season," said NPD chief industry analyst Marshall Cohen. According to NDP, retailers will have to wait a bit longer to see shoppers come through their doors. The trend in recent years, Cohen said, is "buying now and wearing now."

"More and more consumers keep telling us that they are putting off their shopping later and later each year," Cohen said.

Cohen says the days of buying before school begins are at an end. Kids, he says, would rather wait until they get to the classroom to see what's cool and what's not. So Cohen says back-to-school shopping won't be absent this year. "It will just be a little tardy," he said.