These Days, It’s Back to School, Then Shopping

In a shift that's upending retailers’ plans, many children, teenagers and their parents are delaying their school purchases. A desire to get the trends right accounts for some of the hesitation, but retailers and analysts say the sluggish economy and unusually hot weather have also made for a surprisingly slow start to the back-to-school spending season, one that was expected to be the strongest since before the recession. If people don't go to stores once schools start, it will be bad news for an economy heavily dependent on consumer spending to stay afloat.