Retailers aren't alone in back-to-school push

A colleague's son refused to walk into Target in July because the plethora of back-to-school signs and sales was just too demoralizing for this young summer-lover.

I, too, wanted to scream, "Please, no!" when I walked into Office Max a week ago and saw rows of notebooks, colored markers and locker decorations.

Seriously? Can't we put off the inevitable for at least another weekend?

Unfortunately, we can't place all the blame on retailers for stealing our summer thunder. Turns out a big reason for the early selling season is us.

"A lot of people have this idea that back-to-school starts early because of retailers," said Ana Smith, a spokeswoman for the National Retail Federation (NRF). "That's not exactly true."

We're not just imagining that stores are aggressively pushing backpacks, skinny jeans, Kleenex and calculators just as we're reaching for more sunscreen. In 2013, retailers started back-to-school sales before July 4, which caused universal shrieking by schoolkids. Launches have moved back since then, but only by a week or so.

Back-to-school is like Christmas in July for retailers. Consumers plan to spend $26 billion on back-to-school clothing and supplies in 2016, the highest amount since 2012, when the number topped $30 billion.

Add college spending to the mix and the total leaps to an astounding $75.8 billion. School supplies are second only to Christmas as the biggest financial boost of retailers' year.

Here's where we come in. Procrastinators aside (guilty!), the majority of back-to-school shoppers no longer hit the stores once. Spending an average of $674 per student, parents today tend to shop over as long as two months, Smith said, spreading out their bills to avoid sticker shock.

"They're taking their time, scouring through ads and promotions and comparing," Smith said. Clearly, the recent recession hasn't disappeared from memory.

On the other hand, 25 percent of parents reported this year that they have confidence in the economy, a percentage which, while not huge, is the highest since the NRF started asking that question seven years ago.

So, kids, here's a tip:

"Yes," Smith agreed. "Parents are gonna buy them this year."