• August 4, 2009

Forecasters may be predicting a downturn in back-to-school spending, but Wal-Mart Stores wants its share, and the Bentonville, Ark.-based retailer is taking off the pricing gloves: The chain says parents can fully outfit each child for $50 or less.

While Wal-Mart says the average parent spends $234 on back-to-school duds, it promises enough selection in the under-$10 range that moms can score a whole week's worth of clothes "for less than a tank of gas." And it's selling its Compaq Presario Notebook, with a 3GB memory, for $298.

The back-to-school electronics business is one of the few categories expected to grow this year.--Sarah Mahoney