Back-To-School Season Expected To Provide Economic Boost

By Larissa Lytwyn

Heavy markdowns lifted Connecticut’s July sales above expectations, carrying conservatively optimistic attitudes toward the back-to-school season slightly higher.

The state Labor Department reported business productivity growth at a surprisingly strong annual rate of 5.7 percent in the April to June quarter, the best numbers since last fall. Sears, Roebuck and Company, Target, J.C. Penney, and Gap, Incorporated all reported sales that transcended analysts’ forecasts. Even May Department Stores, which recently closed two state Lord & Taylor stores, found a sales increase in stores open at least a year, surpassing expectations.

Known as “same store sales,” retailers open at least one year are considered by industry insiders as the best indicator of the company’s overall health.

According to the National Retail Federation in Washington, D.C., one of the world’s largest retail trade associations, consumers are expected to spend a little more on back-to-school items this year than last — an average of $450.76, up from $441.60. Part of retailers’ optimism may be due to the government’s recent mailing of $14 billion in advance tax-refund checks to taxpayers with children born between 1987 through 2002.