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Costco Wholesale Corp. also was among the retailers that posted a revenue increase in June. The wholesale-club operator said revenue at stores open at least a year climbed 6 percent, topping Wall Street's expectations. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters predicted a 5.4 percent increase in the figure. Despite the gains in June, analysts caution that shoppers remain deal hungry. For instance, Jamie Achilli, a mother who lives in Carrollton, Tex., has been taking advantage of deals at Kohl's Corp. Among the bargains she grabbed were $4 yoga pants originally priced at $20. She also bought tops for $2 for her two-year old daughter. "I loaded up on clothes for myself," said Achilli, 35. "I waited until they went to 80 percent clearance." Dan Granger, 41, from Peters, Missouri, also said he's remained frugal because he's still digging himself out of from the Great Recession. He and his family are renting a condominium after losing their home, and he had been unemployed for two years before finding a job as a maintenance manager for a commercial real estate company in February 2012. So, Granger took advantage of deals for himself last month. He also got a head start on back-to-school shopping for his sons, ages 13 and 17 and bought them discounted summer clothes that they can wear in September. Overall, he spent about $600, but he said he will wait for another end-of-the-season sale to buy more. "In this economy, you have to get deals where you can," Granger said. "We're starting over like 18-year-olds."
Analysts expect that stores are going to have to continue to offer discounts heading into the back-to-school shopping season to meet the needs of deal-hungry shoppers. In fact, department store chain Kohl's Corp. is already discounting school uniforms anywhere from 30 percent to 35 percent and certain backpacks from 20 percent to 40 percent. "Retailers are going to be quite promotional," said Madison Riley, managing director at Kurt Salmon.
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