Culver City Shoppers Spend Smarter for School This Year

Recession-weary parents getting their students ready to go back to school in Culver City say they are not necessarily spending less money this year, but that they are spending it smarter--and may be leaving town to find bargains.

"I've definitely changed how I'm going about doing things," said Teri Elmont, a parent of two Culver Middle School students.  Teri avoids buying all of her supplies at once in order to capitalize on advertised sales, and she and other Culver City parents swap local deals via e-mail. "A lot of stores are having many sales; I am looking at the 99 cent store and the Dollar Tree as well as Staples to buy supplies. Almost everybody I know is changing how they're doing back-to-school shopping, because they've lost a job or are afraid that they are going to lose one."

How parents like Teri behave is crucial to Culver City retailers, for whom back-to-school sales season is the second most important time of the year, after the Christmas holiday season. And it's important to the city, which depends on sales-tax revenue.

While specific Culver City sales-tax revenue amounts from back-to-school supplies are not available, according to Nagam Rao, city revenue division manager, businesses have taken note of national trends.

Chamber of Commerce president Steven Rose says that he has noticed changes in the way locals are shopping: "People will buy online to avoid buying sales and use tax. If they can avoid the 9.75 [percent] sales tax in Los Angeles County, then that's what they will do." 

Nationwide, major retailers look to the back-to-school shopping season as indicative of how well Christmas holiday shopping will go, and they are currently feeling the crunch of a slowly thawing economy. 

Earlier this month, the national research company Thomson Reuters released a report that found that major chain stores--such as Macy's and Target--reported a modest 2.9 percent increase in sales during the month of July, versus the 3.1 percent increase analysts expected.

Jack Kyser, chief economic advisor for the Southern California Association of Governments, noted that--in addition to low overall retail sales for the month--teen-oriented clothing stores were hit particularly hard. 

"Consumers are very focused on value," Kyser said. "My read is that it is going to be a different back-to-school shopping season, but we have to wait to see what the numbers are like." 

Kyser added that Goodwill stores have been an attraction to parents, advertising deals to back-to-school shoppers. 

On the local level, Cash & Carry manager Bob Owens is hoping for a healthy back-to-school season.

"We're never sure, but based on people coming in now that are bringing in lists, hopefully it will be OK," he said. "It's hit and miss with schools going back at different times. Most Culver City schools go back in September, which is good business for us." 

For her part, Culver City mom Lisa Levin said that she has "lost faith in local retailers." Wal-Mart in Torrance, CA, is her shopping destination for everything from backpacks to crayons. "I'm motivated by power for my punch, and where I can get the most for my money," she said. "I am going to places like Wal-Mart because my kids go through things so fast—I want to get them as cheaply as possible." As an example, she said, her first-grade daughter tore through three backpacks in three months. 

With school beginning on Aug. 30, parents are currently in the mad dash to cross items off their list. But strategic shopping seems to be the order of the day in Culver City.