Retail, Back-to-school | featured news

Most retailers, including Costco Wholesale Corp and Limited Brands Inc , posted better-than-expected sales gains at existing stores in August, in what is expected to be a healthy month as parents and students wrapped up back-to-school purchases.

In an effort to follow trends, students and their families are delaying back-to-school purchases, which could hurt an economy heavily dependent on consumer spending to stay afloat.

Stores are trying everything they can think of to disguise the fact that you're going to pay more for clothes this fall.

Almost two-thirds of U.S. shoppers plan to spend the same or less this back-to-school season as last year, a survey showed, in an early sign that retailers may not obtain a huge boost from the second-biggest selling season of the year.

U.S. retailers are expected to post modest sales gains for September, on cautious back-to-school shopping and aggressive month-end promotions from department stores looking to clear inventory ahead of the all-important holiday shopping season.

Retailers are reporting surprisingly solid gains for August even as unusually hot weather and job worries kept a lid on back-to-school buying.

Shoppers spent slightly more last month than they had the year before, but sales were far short of 2008 levels, heralding what could be a disappointing holiday shopping season.

Half-priced jeans and promotional freebies are already popping up at the mall with the start of school still weeks away.