How are retailers doing it?

Chicago Tribune reports.

Big retailers trying to turn college kids into lifelong customers

It’s back-to-college season, which means retailers are battling to equip as many of America’s freshmen with laptops, futons and minifridges as they can. Amid the flood of deals and discounts, some have their eyes on a bigger prize: figuring out how a new generation of customers shops and hooking a group of potential lifelong repeat customers.

The average family with college-age kids plans to spend $888.71 getting ready to go back to campus, about half of which will go to electronics, apparel and dorm furnishings, according to a National Retail Federation survey.