Parents are preparing their back-to-school budgets with caution, according to the National Retail Federation (NRF).

Based on the group's recent survey conducted by BIGinsight, nearly77% of families with school-aged children say the economy will affect their spending plans.

"While this is down slightly from the 80% this time last year, it's clear that these consumers still feel the pressure," NRF said.

Other findings of the survey included: one-quarter of families with students in grades K-12 (25.7%, up from 23.5% last year) will ask their children to reuse last year's school supplies to cut back on expenses; and more parents will compare prices online to seek out deals (18.4% versus 16.8% last year).

The survey found parents will also use coupons (36.7%) and purchase generic products (36.9%) for school items. Parents also said that they are compensating for the impact of the economy by cutting back on extracurricular activities (12.7%) and choosing whether their child goes to public or private schools (6.6%).

NRF's 2013 Back-to-School/College surveys will be released in mid-July.

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