Apparel big ticket for BTS, Sears finds

HOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill. — Parents will spend more on apparel for this school year versus last year, a new survey from Sears and BlogHer, a network of women social media leaders, revealed.

Among apparel, jeans stood out as the main product parents would spend money on. According to the survey, 31% of respondents cited denim as a primary apparel item they would be inclined to spend more on. Furthermore, nearly half (46%) indicated that they would buy two to four pairs of jeans per child, while more than two-thirds (68%) of moms plan to keep costs down by spending less than $50 per pair.

The Sears/BlogHer survey also revealed that 60% of moms surveyed said they would pay for back-to-school items using cash,followed by credit cards (28%) and checks (4%). In addition, while four out of 10 families will shop right before school starts or after school is back in session, 47% are monitoring sales and specials throughout the summer.

“Especially during this tough economic climate, Sears remains committed to providing aspirational, affordable fashions,” said Dave Friedman, SVP and president of marketing for Sears Holdings. “This survey confirms the back-to-school trends we anticipated—that moms are savvier shoppers, now more than ever. That’s why our goal for back to school is to provide a wide selection of brands and styles to match every kid’s personality at prices families can afford.”

The Sears/BlogHer back-to-school Survey was distributed between July 21 and July 29, to two sample populations: the BlogHer Publishing Network and the Latinos in Social Media (LATISM) Network. Each of these networks distributed the survey by email to a targeted mom cohort. The survey sample total is 709, and the margin of error equals + or – 3.6% with a 99% level of confidence.