Ohio back-to-school shoppers in search of pencils, backpacks, jeans and the like will get a break starting Friday thanks to the state's second sales-tax holiday. The Ohio General Assembly voted to repeat last year's first-ever weekend exemption from paying sales tax.

Ohio back-to-school shoppers in search of pencils, backpacks, jeans and the like will get a break starting Friday, thanks to the state's second sales-tax holiday.

The Ohio General Assembly voted to repeat last year's first-ever weekend exemption from paying sales tax.

"Last year's event was a tremendous success," said Gordon Gough, president and CEO of the Ohio Council of Retail Merchants. "Ohioans love a sale, and last year proved that they really love not having to pay the sales tax as well. We are confident this year's event will be just as successful, if not better."

This year's window of opportunity comes Friday through Sunday. All clothing and footwear with a price tag no higher than $75, plus school supplies and instructional materials up to $20 per item, may be bought tax-free. There's no limit on the total purchase as long as the per-item caps are observed.

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Although the sales-tax holiday is aimed at back-to-school shoppers, the list of merchandise that is eligible for the tax break includes many items that even non-students might want. As long as an item doesn't cost more than $75, eligible apparel includes steel-toed shoes, scarves, neckties, diapers (for children or adults), formal wear, bathing suits and girdles.

The tax holiday's appeal "goes beyond families getting ready to go back-to-school. It's something that every Ohio consumer can enjoy, as last year's event proved definitively," Gough said. "The sales-tax holiday became a mini-Black Friday in many communities, as consumer groups and school organizations across Ohio drove their members to the malls and stores to save money."

A University of Cincinnati Economics Center study showed that Ohio's August 2015 sales-tax holiday boosted Ohio sales-tax revenue by $4.7 million while saving Ohio consumers $3.3 million in taxes. The study suggested that the increase in revenue was the result of increased consumer purchases of items that were not exempt from the sales tax. In addition, the study showed a hike in "cross-border" sales in Ohio counties along the state line, boosted by Ohio's status as the only Midwestern state with a sales-tax holiday on these popular consumer items.

The sales boost is likely to be repeated this year, according to an Alliance Data Back-to-School Survey, which found that 37 percent of consumers will do as much back-to-school shopping as possible this weekend to save as much as possible. Further, 46 percent of consumers plan to buy many clothing items before school starts.

Nationally, shoppers this year are expected to increase spending on back-to-school items by 9 percent over last year, according to the National Retail Federation's annual survey of consumer spending. Total spending for kindergarten through 12th grade and for college is expected to reach $75.8 billion, up from last year's $68 billion.

The sales-tax holiday was a hit last year at the Wal-Mart store on Britton Parkway in Dublin.

"It was a nice boost, about a 15 to 20 percent sales boost," said Chris Wood, manager of the Wal-Mart. "We had a lot of good extra traffic, too. The great part is it's not just pens and pencils. You can get diapers, even adult diapers, steel-toed boots, wedding-day apparel and office supplies, too. It's a good time to stock up."

Wood said Wal-Mart is hoping to pump up sales even more with a new feature this year: Six Wal-Mart locations in central Ohio are offering online grocery pickup, which means that a customer can shop online for school-supply items as well as traditional groceries, and an employee will bring them out to the customer's vehicle.

"It's great as a time-saver, or for someone with mobility issues, since our stores are not exactly small," Wood said.

Price still matter to shoppers, though. The Alliance Data survey found that 57 percent of consumers will buy items at more than one store to get the best prices and items.

Even so, the tax holiday was so popular last year � and generated such consumer traffic � that some shoppers decided to avoid it. A shopper with that mindset this year is Deb Carmichael of Dublin, who was shopping on Monday morning with son Jonah, 11, who goes to Henry Karrer Middle School.

Although Carmichael was aware that she could have saved a few dollars by delaying the trip until this weekend, "I just thought I'd beat the crowd and come early," she said.

tferan@dispatch.com

@timferan