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Thirst for Thrift: N.C. retailers are expecting profitable tax-free weekend
Journal Photo by Traci White
Claire Wallace, 8, looks to expand her back-to-school wardrobe as she shops at Belk.
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Published: July 31, 2008
Retailers expect good business during North Carolina's tax-free weekend.
Beginning Friday, the state will lift the 6.75 percent tax charged in most counties on back-to-school items.
Merchants figure that the retail market is ripe for profits for several reasons: retailers are hurting because of the slowdown in the economy, and they are offering deals to bring in customers; unspent economic-stimulus checks are still around; and shoppers are looking for back-to-school bargains.
"The merchants this year are much more aggressive in terms of their pricing," said Dennis Cerny, the general manager of Hanes Mall. "So it's earlier sales and deeper discounts. It should be a wild weekend."
Bargains are important to Lydia Seemion of Winston-Salem.
"I'm a single parent with one full-time job and one income," Seemion said. "I have a mortgage and car payment."
She is buying supplies for her twin sons, Anthony and Antione, who will be ninth-graders at North Forsyth High School.
Ken Annunziata of Winston-Salem plans to buy for his 7-year-old son, Nicholas, but said that the weekend is also a good time to buy a big-ticket item, such as a computer.
"You've got to save where you can," he said.
According to The Associated Press, shoppers are expected to save an estimated $9.2 million in taxes they would otherwise pay to the state.
Tax-free items include clothes and footwear priced less than $100; pens, pencils, book bags and calculators that cost less than $100; sports and recreation equipment costing $50 or less; and computers priced less than $3,500.
There's also a new category of items on sale this year: school instructional materials.
Those items include globes, reference books, maps, textbooks and workbooks with a price tag of up to $300. In the past, the limit was $100.
Spending on college merchandise is expected to wane nationwide this year, dropping 7 percent to $599 a person from $642 in 2007, according to a recent survey by the National Retail Federation. The survey cited tough economic times as a reason for the decrease.
Total back-to-college spending is expected to reach $31.26 billion.
But, spending by the average family with school-age children -- kindergarten through 12th-grade -- is expected to rise this year to $594, compared with $563 in 2007. Total spending for this age group is estimated to reach $20.1 billion.
The federation said that one-fifth of parents nationwide have set aside a portion of their stimulus checks for back-to-school purchases.
Some retailers, such as Staples and J.C. Penney, started displaying back-to-school items just after the Fourth of July holiday, and they are offering steep discounts to attract customers.
"In uncertain times like this our customers look for the best values," said Jack Johndrow, the manager for the J.C. Penney at Hanes Mall, which will have extended hours this weekend. "When you can combine a tax-free status with the right sales, that's a good value."
Merchandise expected to do well at the Staples on Hanes Mill Road includes notebooks, backpacks and accessories and notebook computers.
The retailer is also offering promotions on some items, such as pencil holders, which cost as a little as a penny.
Belk and J.C. Penney at Hanes Mall expect strong sales in school uniforms, backpacks and shoes.
"It's shaping up as a great denim year," Johndrow said. "Denim is really hot right now."
Some local retailers offer lists of basic items that schools require.
Theo Helm, a spokesman for the Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools, said that the school system encourages principals to post lists of school supplies on school Web sites.
Parents and students can go to http://wsfcs.k12.nc.us and click on "Schools" in the left-hand column to find a list of links to individual schools.
■ Fran Daniel can be reached at 727-7366 or at fdaniel@wsjournal.com.
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