The ads are already infiltrating the newspapers and television commercials, and like Rodney Dangerfield, many U.S. families are gearing up to go back to school. Are retail exchange traded funds (ETFs) ready?

Retailers are awaiting a spree of spending from parents of school-age children to college-age students and the odd person who just gets a thrill from a new set of pens and a nice, clean notebook.

The retail ETFs had a performance rally and for the last two weeks have been turning in positive numbers.

Nicole Maestri for Reuters reports that U.S. parents with school-age children are going to spend more on back-to-school items this year, aided by the rebate checks.

It does beg the question: how much mileage will we continue to get out of those checks? We’re willing to bet that the majority of them are long since spent by now.

Back-to-college students are set to spend less, as they are hit by high gas prices, and many did not receive a stimulus check because they are dependents of their parents. Here’s hoping they at least got a bump in their allowances.

Families with children age K-12 may average $594.24, up from last year’s $563.49, according to a survey by the National Retail Federations 2008. Electronics will be the hardest hit, as college students will not be able to spend in this department.

They’ll be thanking their lucky stars, too, when they see the size of their dorm room. Where do they think a TV is going to fit?

Retail ETFs with open pockets:

• SPDR Retail ETF (XRT), down 7% year-to-date
• Retail HOLDRs (RTH), down 3.8% year-to-date
• Vanguard Consumer ETF (VDC), down 4.7% year-to-date

Tags: Retail, RTH, VDC, XRT