Budgets/Spending/Market Size

Grand Rapids, Mich. – Back-to-school shoppers are both willing to spend more and also seeking savings this season. According to a new survey that department store chain Meijer conducted of its customers, approximately 92% of households with school-age children plan to spend the same amount or more than the previous year for back-to–school supplies.

While paid search and email marketing still top retailers’ lists of effective customer acquisition channels, social media has moved up the ranks to become an important tool for engaging with and attracting new customers.

With back-to-school shopping on the horizon, parents are looking to get their shopping started early in the hope of getting the best deals, according to Meijer’s customer survey. 

New York -- Ollie’s Bargain Outlet raised $143 million in a wildly successful initial public stock offering that positions the company for steady expansion of its 181 unit store base beyond core markets.

Ollie’s co-founder and CEO Mark Butler told Retailing Today that although the company has identified 950 suitable store locations, proceeds from the IPO will be used to repay debt and the company will maintain a measured pace of expansion.

Washington, D.C. -- The National Retail Federation on Wednesday asked the Labor Department to give businesses more time to respond to the administration’s proposal to expand overtime saying the plan’s “drastic changes” will require “extensive analysis” and require companies to speculate on “hypothetical proposals.”

Washington, D.C. - Parents this year will be a little more cautious about their back-to-school spending.

According to NRF’s Back-to-School Spending Survey conducted by Prosper Insights & Analytics, the average family with children in grades K-12 plans to spend $630.36 on school needs.

After spending more on school supplies and electronics in 2014, parents this year will head into the back-to-school season evaluating what their children really need before spending on new items.

Quebec -- The Quebec City-based Simons department store chains is planning to extend its brand across Canada, according to Canada’s Global News.

The 175-year-old Canadian retailer - plans to spend up to $200 million over the next four years on its expansion plan, which will result in eight additional stores openings across the country, the report said.

New York -- Chain Store Age magazine is accepting nominations for its 11th annual “Top Redevelopers” listing, which recognizes shopping center owners and developers’ retail redevelopment efforts over the last 12 months. Selections will be based on square footage redeveloped between June 30, 2014 and June 30, 2015, financial investment, and project significance.

San Jose, Calif. – An analysis of June sales by store analytics provider RetailNext served up mixed results.

Although overall sales suffered a year-over-year decline in June 2015, retailers can take solace in the fact the consumers who were shopping spent more money. According to RetailNext’s Retail Performance Pulse report, June experienced a 3.3% year-over-year increase in sales per shopper, one of the strongest performances in any month of 2015 so far.