The NRF says nearly 85 percent of consumers with school-aged children have noted the economy will impact spending in some way. More consumers say they plan to shop more often in order to spread out the expenses, and more plan to cut back on their children's extracurricular activities than did last year. Almost half of shoppers will start back-to-school purchases three weeks to a month before the first day of classes soften the blow of back-to-school spending.

But some analysts don't see back-to-school as a slam dunk for retailers. Consumer spending trends have been weakening and Citigroup analyst Deborah Weinswig expects the situation to worsen in the second half of the year. Earlier this week, she slashed earnings estimates for companies such as JCPenney,Kohl's, Macy's and Targetas a result.

Also, according to Experian Marketing Services, through July 13, online searches for back-to-school are down year-over-year.

Amid this uncertainty, retailers are gearing up for a back-to-school battle, offering a number of promotions and events both in-store and online to capture the affection, and dollars, of even the youngest of shoppers.

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