• by Gavin O'Malley  @mp_gavin, July 29, 2013

During the remaining weeks of summer, where are the most likely digital destinations to find mom and dad?

Walmart, JCPenney, Macy’s, Staples, and Sears, according to fresh data from Experian Marketing Services.

In other words, parents appear to be doing the majority of their online back-to-school shopping with brick-and-mortar brands, according to Bill Tancer, general manager of global research at EMS. "Brick-and-mortar stores are getting the majority of search traffic to date," said Tancer.

Before the first day of school, consumers can expect the number of related email offers to begin increasing significantly, according to Tancer.

“The bulk of email [and] search activity around back-to-school will peak in August, but last year marketers were sending back-to-school emails out earlier to help drive demand and earlier purchases,” he said.

As for popular direct-marketing strategies, offers in subject lines were present on 37% of back-to-school emails, and generated 57% of total email revenue last year.

Driving online sales -- at the expense of off-line commerce -- retailers are dealing with record heat waves across country this season, and the continued practice of showrooming.

Also of note, Tancer expects demand for teen apparel to continue well after the school year begins, because kids have to be actually be around their classmates to properly gauge current styles and shopping trends.