US retailers report weak results for December [View All]

[Robbien]

Source: AP

NEW YORK (AP) - An already weak holiday shopping season in the U.S. turned out to be even worse than expected for many of the nation's retailers, who reported Thursday they had sluggish sales results for December. The disappointing performance raised more concerns about consumer spending.

The weak results came from across all retail categories, but particularly hard hit were apparel sellers including Limited Brands Inc. and teen retailer Pacific Sunwear of California Inc. Among the few bright spots was Wal-Mart Stores Inc., which posted results that exceeded Wall Street expectations, as it benefited from shoppers traded down to cheaper stores amid higher gas prices and a slumping housing market.

. . .

«It's weaker than expected,» said Jharonne Martis, a retail analyst at Thomson Financial. «There's definitely a consumer spending slowdown.» But she added that she is waiting to see how sales fare in January, when stores benefit from consumers redeeming their gift cards. Retailers don't record sales of gift cards until they are redeemed.

According to a preliminary sales tally by Thomson Financial, 16 retailers missed projections, while seven beat forecasts and one met expectations. The tally is based on same-store sales or sales at stores opened at least a year which are a key indicator of a retailer's health.

Read more: http://www.pr-inside.com/us-retailers-report-weak-results-for-r380204.htm

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Costco is one of the ones who beat forecasts, so that's good.