From our ABCNews Blog:
Despite reports from retailers of expected declines in the back-to-school retail season, online data reveals that visits to office supply and school supply sites is holding steady when compared to previous year’s visits. The chart below provides a three-year perspective on visits to office/school supply websites.
The dramatic yearly spikes occur the first week of January (likely caused by New Year’s resolutions to get organized and fresh office supply budgets).

To get a better understanding of visits to these sites, the next chart provides a year-over-year comparison of visits to those same sites.

As we’ve reported previously, trends in visits to online retailers tend to go in the opposite direction of reported bricks and mortar store sales. The most likely cause for this phenomenon is that tougher economic times drive consumers online to find the best prices.