Americans not scrimping on clothes this fall - study_52

[Americans not scrimping on clothes this fall - study_52]

,<a href="http://www.figurechina.com">Figurechina</a> "Before the recession people shopped aggressively in all
categories. This year, people are not shopping in all categories
-- in consumer electronics, automobiles, appliances, they are
actually staggering their purchases, but (they are) buying more
clothes," he told Reuters.

By Nivedita Bhattacharjee

BANGALORE |
 Wed Aug 31, 2011 3:33pm EDT

A report by IBM, to be released later on Wednesday, says
demand for apparel and accessories will stay strong this fall,
as parents spend on their kids, and then on themselves.

"They are buying more clothes than they are other kinds of
goods and services," said Michael Haydock, retail analytics
leader at IBM Global Business Services.

BANGALORE Aug 31 (Reuters) - Shoppers may not be feeling
too good about the economy, but that is not stopping them from
adding clothes and shoes to their wardrobes, a recent study
shows.

"People are being a lot more conservative about their
purchases, but when they decide what to buy, they are buying,"
Haydock said, adding that these numbers are not an indicator of
the upcoming holiday season.

Haydock expects sales of clothes and shoes to rise 6.3
percent in August, to $19.49 billion. In September, he expects
them to rise 6.6 percent.

Several chains are set to report their August sales this
week. Sales at stores open at least a year are expected to rise
4.6 percent, according to Thomson Reuters.

(Reporting by Nivedita Bhattacharjee in Bangalore; Editing by
Sriraj Kalluvila)

Specialty apparel retailers, especially those that cater to
teens and young adults, are widely expected to lose sales to
discounters and department stores this year, as shoppers look
for bargains and deals.

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For the three fall months of August through October,
children's apparel is expected to see an 11.1 percent
rise followed by men's at 5.5 percent and women's at 3.1
percent.

IBM's report does not break out results from different
stores types. Instead, it shows a general trend across specialty
retailers like Abercrombie &amp; Fitch , department stores
like J.C. Penney Co Inc and discounters like Target Corp
 .

"Adults are holding back on purchasing for themselves during
their back-to-school shopping for the kids. But once the kids
are in school, mom and dad will go out and spend in September
and October,<a href="http://2001.madawaska.org/blog.php?user=figurechinan&blogentry_id=35887" target="_blank" style="text-decoration: none;">U.S. stock futures inch up; ADP jobs data eyed_151</a>," Haydock said.

The Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan's consumer
sentiment index showed increased weakness in August, with the
final reading on the overall index of consumer sentiment at
55.7, down from 63.7 the month before.

"There isn't necessarily a pattern that we see that says if
back-to-school is good that holiday will be good. It's worth
waiting till August results to get to that," he said.

Americans not scrimping on clothes this fall - study