Retail's second-busiest shopping season of the year - the back-to-school period - is getting longer, but not necessarily stronger.

While parents and students hit the stores as early as the beginning of August for school supplies and clothing options, the shopping isn't stopping when the bell rings for the first class. Instead, a growing number of shoppers are hitting the store aisles throughout the month of September.

And they'll use all that time to spend a staggering $1.83 billion, primarily on clothing, shoes and accessories - with just $660 million going to school supplies - according to Youthography, a Toronto-based research, marketing, promotion and creative agency dedicated exclusively to youth culture.

However, even with a strong Canadian economy, Youthography says it found a surprising trend. The $1.17 billion to be spent on clothing, shoes and accessories for this year's back-to-school season is down by 10.3 per cent from the same period last year.

"We were shocked by the 10- per-cent decline," says Mike Farrell, partner and chief strategic officer at Youthography, referring to the results from a national study conducted with 1,946 Canadians aged nine to 34 in mid to late July.

"There's a tightening-of-the-belt attitude we're seeing right across the board and it is percolating down to something as basic as back-to-school shopping."

Part of this may be explained by a switch to better-quality products.

"Their (survey respondents) aspiration is for quality clothes, clothes that are fairly timeless - but for them, lasting a long time may only mean a year," says Farrell.

"The volume is there, but the average buy per person is going down just a bit. They're a different type of consumer this generation; they still consume probably more, but the way they approach these decisions is a lot more well thought out. They need to rationalize it to themselves, their peers and their parents."

When they do spend on clothing, shoes and accessories, the drawing cards are reasonable prices, quality, selection, frequent sales and deep discounts, adds Farrell.

Retailers certainly aren't about to give the 2007 back-to-school season a failing grade.

While clothing, footwear and school supplies are back-to-school staples, trends in technology have changed the face of purchasing habits in the last five years, says the Toronto-based Retail Council of Canada (RCC), which represents 40,000 small, medium and large retailers across the country. It says there is more of a focus on electronics now than there has been in the past.

"There's a big emphasis on electronics," says Derek Nighbor, the RCC vice-president of national affairs. "Now, students in junior high or university are purchasing MP3 players, electronic organizers and laptops. Electronics are very much a part of the back-to-school season."

Nighbor says the outlook is good for fall, with 81 per cent of respondents to an RCC survey saying they plan to spend the same amount this year or more than they did last year.

The survey showed about 37 per cent of Canadians plan to shop for back-to-school items, spending an average of $353. Another 34 per cent intend to spend $400 or more, according to the Pollara poll of 2,634 adult Canadians conducted Aug. 7-13 for the RCC.

The survey shows residents of Quebec and Alberta will spend the most on back-to-school items this year at $449 and $409, respectively, while those in Manitoba and Saskatchewan will spend the least at $269. In Ontario, spending is pegged at $321 while in B.C. it's $291.

Meanwhile, major Canadian retailers are doing what they can to boost the amount customers spend in their stores at this time of year.

HBC, which operates The Bay and Zellers among other retail banners, has joined forces with the student price card (SPC) loyalty program, offering students who purchase an SPC card - $8.50 plus tax and valid for one year - a 10-per-cent discount on all products at The Bay or Zellers.

"We're bringing it in because it's another layer to our back-to-school, back-to-dorm season and it gives students yet another reason to come shopping at our stores," says HBC spokeswoman Katherine Raso, who adds that early response to the card is positive. "It's completely new (to HBC) this year, but it's too early to say if it will be brought back next year."

More than 100 retailers are part of the SPC program, which is based in Vaughan, Ont. Discounts offered generally range between 10 and 15 per cent.

In addition to bringing in new customers, HBC is hoping the SPC card will give existing shoppers more reason to come back and shop its stores during the rest of the year.

At Wal-Mart Canada, which according to Youthography's Farrell is the preferred store for both teens and 'tweens (preteens), the company has moved to increase its share of shoppers.

In early August, it announced it was lowering prices across key categories throughout its stores during August and September.

"This a record year for rollbacks," says Wal-Mart Canada spokeswoman Christi Gallagher, adding the 15,000 rollbacks include many school-related items.

Because of the stronger Canadian dollar, Gallagher says Wal-Mart was able to renegotiate prices as part of its 2007 strategy to offer greater savings than in the past.

Historically, adds Gallagher, the first week of school has been a peak sales week for key items, from refill paper to underwear to dorm décor.

At The Bay and Zellers, the back-to-school sales period extends throughout September.

"We consider all of September as part of back-to-school season," says Raso. "(Retail) seasons have changed now.

"You're getting people who like to wait until they get back to school and they like to see what other students are wearing, what gadgets they have, and then they will go shopping after school has started - I'd say it's your 'tween and teen markets, they're the ones that are influenced by their peers."

(Laura Severs can be reached at laura@businessedge.ca)