Teen Back-to-School Sales a Boom or a Bust?

According to this article, retailers are hoping our teens create a boom for the back-to-school season, the second largest profit season for stores like JCPenney right behind Christmas. It seems that teen market that has been so rock solid isn’t as sturdy as this time last year, the article states:

"Moreover, the teen market as a whole has been struggling. Once-immune retailers like Abercrombie & Fitch or American Eagle Outfitters have seen falling same-store sales this year…"

I don’t know why this would come as a surprise to anyone in the market. Fuel costs money, therefore employers don’t have the money to hire teens, parents don’t have as much money to give their teens and teen drivers need to put gas in their cars too. My daughters are already hitting the sales, so if retailers are smart, have a good sale – not some fake percent off items that are way too expensive to begin with. This generation of teens have learned to be money savvy, in my opinion.

Has your teen started saving or ferreting out sales for Back-to-School items? Do you think the teen market is going to help retail sales or not? Share your opinions and advice in our comments area.