Report

Did someone say challenged economy? Based on the findings of this year's Back To School Retail & Shopping Report, it appears as if the majority of teens and college students (and their parents) weren't listening or they decided to play the role of the contrarian. This year students and their parents plan to spend an average of $669 on back to school-related purchases compared to $614 last year.

Not only will students be spending more money on back to school-related purchases, there will be a record number of them making those purchases. When all is said and done, nearly 16 million students will be on campus in a few short weeks, representative of a 6% jump in undergraduates from last year.