ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Wednesday, August 28, 1996 TAG: 9608280017
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: B-8 EDITION: METRO
COLUMN: Marketplace
SOURCE: MEGAN SCHNABEL
If you're sending your kids off to school wearing the same shorts and T-shirts they've played in all summer, don't worry. You aren't alone.
"Generally, we procrastinate as we do at the holiday season," said Bruce Van Kleeck, vice president of member services for the National Retail Federation, a Washington, D.C.-based trade group.
Nationwide, retailers have seen a slowdown in back-to-school shopping over the last few years. Parents who once finished all their fall shopping in early August are stretching the process into September and even October. "People are pressed for time," Van Kleeck said. "Shopping is not as critical a function as it once was."
Blame some of the procrastination on retailers themselves, he said. We know that if we hold out just a few more weeks, we're likely to find that the shoes and shirts we want have gone on sale. "We've been conditioned by retailers to wait," he said.
All this means the traditional back-to-school period - August through early September - is becoming a less and less critical part of the year for many merchants, said Kenneth Gassman, a retail analyst with Davenport & Co. of Virginia in Richmond.
In years past, the fall shopping season was a strong indicator of Christmas sales. A healthy back-to-school period typically meant merchants could look forward to a good holiday season, while sluggish August and September sales set the scene for a humbug Christmas.
But over the last few years that correlation has lost reliability for many retailers, Gassman said. Historically, apparel has been the top seller during the back-to-school season. But dress codes at many schools have become relaxed to the point that kids can wear their summer T-shirts and shorts into the fall. At other schools, uniforms are the rule. And for students at the nation's growing number of year-round schools, there's no such thing as back-to-school shopping.
"Retailers are telling me that once again, back-to-school sales are coming later and having less impact," he said. A bigger surge may come later in the fall, as both prices and temperatures drop.
Todd Ross, who owns Once Upon a Child shops in Roanoke and Lynchburg, said that's especially true at a store like his that sells used and new clothing. Many parents spend more than they plan to early in the season, he said. After the kids go back to school and realize they need more supplies, their parents head for discount stores and resale shops.
"It seems like it's picked up some in the last two weeks," he said. "We'll get a lot of business right after they go to school."
Norma Carlisle, manager of Sears, Roebuck & Co.'s store at Valley View Mall, said sales have finally picked up after a sluggish start. "We had some early shopping, a month ago," she said. "But in the last 10 days it's become absolutely intense."
For other retailers, back-to-school sales have been strong from the start.
"It's actually been a very good month," said Allen Boitnott, merchandise manager for J.C. Penney Co.'s store at Tanglewood Mall. "We're seeing people buy more of our winter-weight goods than we have in the past."
The store has had to bring in more winter wear just to keep up with demand, he said. Last winter's series of near-blizzards may have something to do with the rush on coats, he thinks: No one wants to be caught without a warm parka if Mother Nature performs an encore.
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