Slump Won't Dent Back-to-School Sales

Driscoll believes that the housing slump, which companies such as Wal-Mart(WMT Quote) have blamed for recent woes, shouldn't have an impact on back-to-school sales. She says the back-to-school period marks a transition from discretionary spending to necessary spending.

"When the product is right, they're willing to shop," Driscoll says of consumers. "There's fear in the investing public, but I'm not so sure of the consuming public yet."

Several retailers say they have noticed a pickup in sales since July, which they expect to boost their numbers in the current quarter.

"We're now in the midst of the back-to-school season and are pleased with the customer response to our collection," said Susan McGalla, president and chief merchandising officer at American Eagle, in a recent conference call. "Our Fall One assortment arrived in stores on Aug. 28. This updated fall collection will capitalize on later back-to-school markets and the Labor Day holiday traffic."

Both Target (TGT Quote) and Kohl's(KSS Quote) have also reported improvements in back-to-school sales as customers shop deeper into the season.

"After a strong start to the quarter in May, our sales performance was affected by the performance of our seasonal businesses in June and July," said Kohl's CEO Larry Montgomery in a recent statement. "Strength in our other businesses remained consistent and our early read on back-to-school is positive."