Families consider back-to-school and college items an essential category, and they are taking whatever steps they can, including cutting back on discretionary spending, shopping sales and buying store or off-brand items, in order to purchase what they need for the upcoming school year.

National Retail Federation

The National Retail Federation (NRF) is the world's largest retail trade association. Its members include department stores, specialty, discount, catalog, Internet, and independent retailers, chain restaurants, grocery stores, and multi-level marketing companies. Members also include businesses that provide goods and services to retailers, such as vendors and technology providers. NRF represents the largest private-sector industry in the United States that contains over 3.8 million retail establishments, supporting more than 52 million employees contributing $2.6 trillion annually to GDP.

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