Retailers post small gains in September

Americans are finally spending a little more, but they're playing hard to get.

A tally of sales at top nationwide stores managed a gain in September for the first time in more than a year.

It was a pleasant surprise for retailers, but analysts say shoppers still aren't coming in the door unless they see deep discounts.

The increase in the sales figure from the International Council of Shopping Centers and Goldman Sachs yesterday was small -- just 0.1 percent -- yet significant because many analysts expected sales to keep falling, as they had since August 2008.

Shoppers are hungry for markdowns. Auto showrooms drew throngs of customers this summer because of Cash for Clunkers rebates.

Home sales and construction are being fueled by a tax credit for first-time homebuyers and low mortgage rates and home prices.

At stores, they're keeping an eye out for sale signs.

"The tone is better, and I am encouraged, but it is still a very difficult environment where retailers have to promote in order to get shoppers to buy," New York-based retail consultant Walter Loeb said. "Overall, it's going to be a slow recovery."

By regular measures, it was a weak month.

In the previous five Septembers, sales rose an average of 2.6 percent compared with the year before. Analysts figure that stores will have to entice shoppers with discounts through the holiday season.

Overall, spending levels are about where they were in 2005, according to data provided by SpendingPulse, a service of MasterCard Advisors that estimates monthly U.S. sales from all types of payments, including cash and checks.

For the holidays, the National Retail Federation predicts Americans will spend $437.6 billion, about even with the $433.7 billion they spent four years ago.

Kohl's Corp. department store chain; Limited Brands Inc., which runs Victoria's Secret and Bath & Body Works; and accessories chain The Buckle Inc. all said their September sales rose at stores open more than a year.

J.C. Penney Co., Macy's Inc. and Target Corp. reported their same-store sales fell, but not as much as they had expected.

A late Labor Day and delayed school openings helped because Americans bought some items in September that they otherwise might have bought in August. And the comparisons with a year ago look good partly because last September was when the financial meltdown begun and sales began to fall.

Michael P. Niemira, chief economist at the Council of Shopping Centers, expected a 2 percent sales drop for September. For October, he expects sales to be unchanged from a year ago, a time when they were depressed because of the meltdown. The ICSC's tally excludes Wal-Mart Stores Inc.

"The data supports the view that the recovery is unfolding, but it is slow and uneven," Niemira said. "The consumer is still very much saving money and spending as little as possible."