New York, October 7-- Consumers spent frugally for a fourth straight month in September, giving major retailers modest gains during the critical back-to-school season.
Wal-Mart Stores Inc., Talbots Inc., Federated Department Stores Inc., J.C. Penney Co. Inc., and Kohl's Corp. were among the stores reporting sluggish results Thursday.
Consumers, particularly low- and middle-income Americans, have been forced to cut spending on clothing and other non-necessities as gasoline prices and grocery bills rise. Americans are also nervous about jobs -- last week, the Conference Board reported that job worries helped push consumer confidence down in September for the second consecutive month.
Retailers also attributed the tepid sales to the hurricanes that ravaged Florida and the southeast in late August and the first half of September, which forced many stores to close.
The International Council of Shopping Centers-UBS sales preliminary sales tally of 45 retailers was up 2.5 percent, better than the 1.3 percent gain in August, but well off the average 6 percent increase of January through May. The tally is based on what the industry calls same-store sales, or sales at stores opened at least a year. They are considered the best indicator of a retailer's performance.
Wal-Mart reported a modest 2.4 percent gain in same-store sales, in line with the forecast of Wall Street analysts surveyed by Thomson First Call. Total sales were up 10.8 percent.
ShopKo had a 1.2 percent decline in same-store sales, in line with the 1 percent decline Wall Street expected. Total sales fell 1.5 percent.
But Costco Wholesale Corp. had an 8 percent increase in same-store sales, surpassing analysts' 6.2 percent estimate. Total sales rose 11 percent.
Among department stores, Federated had a 0.1 percent gain in same-store sales, better than the 0.7 percent decline analysts projected. Total sales were off 0.2 percent.
The company said it lost about $30 million in sales to Hurricanes Frances and Jeanne.
"September sales showed modest improvement relative to August, although not enough to predict a robust October," chairman Terry J. Lundgren said in a statement.
Penney recorded a 2 percent increase in same-store sales at its department stores, in line with estimates. Total sales rose 2.3 percent.
The company noted that the hurricanes depressed results by as much as 2 percentage points. It also said that high energy prices hurt results.
Kohl's suffered a 1.3 percent same-store sales decrease, worse than the 1.1 percent forecast. Total sales rose 13.4 percent.
Upscale retailer Neiman Marcus Group had a solid 5.6 percent increase in same-store sales, but results were slightly below the 6.0 percent Wall Street expected. Total sales were up 6.3 percent.
