Springfield, Mo. - Missouri's tax-free weekend is one of the busiest, most-profitable weekends for retailers, second only to Black Friday.
"You probably see twice the traffic. Anytime you see additional traffic it helps the bottom line," said Melinda Owens. the Store Leader of JC Penney at Battlefield Mall in Springfield.
Missouri families save hundreds of dollars doing all of their back-to-school shopping on the weekend free from state sales tax.
"Finding deals. Getting in, getting what we need, and getting out quick," said JC Penney shopper and mother of three Jessica Ollison.
Estimates from The National Retail Federation show the average American family will spend $688 on back to school items in 2012. That's up from the average amount of $603 spent in 2011.
"We'e already got a pair of jeans and a shirt and a pair of shoes, so we're just looking for some accessories," said Brenda Johnson, a Springfield grandmother who took her grandchildren shopping Friday.
"It probably amounts to about $100 savings, so that's quite a savings," Johnson said.
The sales tax holiday in Missouri runs Friday morning through Sunday night and applies to clothing and shoes priced under $100, schools supplies totaling under $50, and computers under $3,500.
"It's expensive. It probably costs $200-$300 just for the school supplies, not counting their clothes," said Melinda Leininger, a mother of three from Blue Eye, Mo.
The Missouri state sales tax is normally 4.225 percent. A few stores, like the Children's Orchard, are even taking off local taxes for the weekend.
"When you can add the tax free quotient into it, it can be a very big savings when you have a lot of children to buy for," said Owens.
