The National Retail Federation (NRF) recently released a report that shows that parents are expected to spend $55.12 billion on school-aged children including those in college, making it the second biggest consumer spending event, after the holiday season.

As the economy is slow to recover, many of those parents will be heading online to save money .on back-to-school purchases. According to the survey, 30.3 percent of parents will shop on the internet this year, as compared to 25.4 percent in 2009.

"Many of today's shoppers are smarter than any other generation before them, especially when it comes to finding the best price.," Phil Rist, executive vice president of BIGResearch, told the NRF. "The affordability of online shopping. gives parents an extra edge over the sometimes expensive back-to-school shopping season with price comparison options, free shipping offers and even coupons."

While shopping online, it's essential that consumers protect themselves from the risk of identity theft. According to ConsumerFraudReporting.org, 275,284 complaints of identity fraud. were reported to the Crime Complaint Center in 2008 alone. One way to protect personal information while shopping on the internet is to use a secure payment company.