The Back-To-School season is usually the best season for retailers aside from the holidays, but not this year. Retail spending was down for the third consecutive month as shoppers stayed away from stores and ignored bargains.

Sales of automobiles dropped sharply last month, the Commerce Department said on Wednesday.

Supplies of furniture, electronics and clothing were left sitting in stores, and department stores, where bargain-seekers would usually flock in hard economic times, saw sales fall 1.5 percent. The drop in sales occurred during the back-to-school shopping season, traditionally the biggest time of the year for retailers outside of the December holidays.

So, are you saving money for the holidays or are you just trimming your budgets overall?

Are you telling your kids “no,” when you used to say “yes”?

Large Drop in Retail Sales in September [NYT]
(Photo: RedandJonny )

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