BACK TO SCHOOL SHOPPING; IT'S MORE THAN JUST A `BLIP' ON THE RETAIL CHARTS

Brenda Lowther, right, manager of 3R'S Plus Supplies at 2136 William, Suite 140 in the Town Plaza Shopping Center, helped Laura Seyer, a third-grade teacher at Nell Holcomb School find school supplies.

Makiea Anderson of New Madrid looked at Unionleg loose-fit jeans at JCPenney Co. Loose-fitting jeans called baggies are still in style.

The back-to-school shopping season is not just a "blip" on retail charts.

"It's our biggest season," said Judy Wilferth, owner of Children's Bazaar in the Crossroads office and retail shopping center at Independence and Kingshighway.

"It's our Christmas season," said Judy Borgfield, owner of 3R's Plus Supplies, 2142 William in Town Plaza Shopping Center.

"Back-to-school is one of our three big shopping peaks," said Harry Rediger, manager of JCPenney in West Park Mall.

"We market our back-to-school supplies aggressively," said Cliff Campeau, senior vice president of marketing for Venture Stores Inc., headquartered in St. Louis. "Our stores have everything from pens and pencils to back packs and lunchboxes." The local Venture store is in the West Park Mall.

Parents and students usually start their back-to-school spending two to three weeks before school starts.

That means now!

The annual exodus of parents and teens into stores everywhere is already under way.

"The back-to-school shopping season this year started in late July," said Wilferth. "It used to be August, September and even October, but during the past two years, we've been seeing school shoppers in July, August and September."

Everything from clothing to pencils and paper are on shopping lists, with back-to-school shopping, parents were expected to spend an average of $396 a child.

That translates into millions of dollars in retail sales.

According to a recent American Express Retail Index Back-To-School Survey, parents will spend an average of $307 per child, and 85 percent of teen-agers will contribute an average of $89 to the back-to-school shopping budget.

Clothing, school supplies and textbooks head the list of what shoppers are buying. But also on the list are sporting goods, computer hardware/software, furniture, appliances and electronics.

Room and dorm furnishings are a big category for shoppers at Venture. "We have a large selection of dorm and apartment supplies," Campeau said. "This category continues to expand in back-to-school shopping trends."

More than 85 percent of shoppers purchase clothing and supplies.

And jeans top the list as the most popular back-to-school clothing among teen-agers.

A recent survey of more than 1,000 parents and students indicate that more than 75 percent of students plan to wear new jeans to school this fall.

Racks and racks of jeans, featuring all styles, colors and brands, are attracting attention from teens. Blue jeans and baggy/wide leg jeans appear to be favorites.

One in four teens will add to their wardrobe before the start of classes late this month or early in September.

But wardrobe shopping will continue throughout the year. Teens, according to the survey, added to their wardrobes three to four times throughout the school year.

With regard to fashion, teens are brand conscious.

One survey indicates that Levi's, Tommy Hilfiger and Calvin Klein, are among favorites of both boys and girls. Polo/Ralph Lauren is also on the boys' list, and Guess is included on the girls' list.

Teachers and students alike are purchasing supplies.

"Teachers are already purchasing supplies to decorate their rooms," said Borgfield at 3R's. The list includes motivational posters, stickers, books, charts, and bulletin boards.

"A lot of parents are also purchasing these supplies, for homework helpers," said Borgfield.

Although July and August have become the big back-to-school shopping months, the purchase of supplies continues through the year, said Borgfield.

A number of retail operations share in the back-to-school retail dollar.

According to the American Express survey, parents and children agree that malls are the most popular place to shop for back-to-school. Thirty-two percent of survey participants say they will shop the malls. But 23 percent of the participants indicated they would shop free-standing department stores and discount department stores. Others (12 percent) will visit electronic and office supply stores. Other will use mail ordering.

Nationally, 75 percent of back-to-school purchases will be paid for in cash (62 percent) and personal checks (13 percent).

Retail consultants and economists are predicting a 4 to 4.5 percent increase in retail spending for the second half of the year.

All signs, say economists, point to sustained growth in retail throughout the year. Christmas will be OK, but not a barn-burner, they say.

The first half of the year ended on an upbeat, with June retail sales up 4.8 percent. With many retailers reporting better than normal back-to-school spending, July and August sales are enjoying notable gains before the Christmas shopping season starts in November.