May sales turned out to be a big letdown for many retail chains, although there were some positive results amid the mostly bad news.

Retail analyst C. Britt Beemer said the disappointing results were not expected because shopper traffic was up for the Memorial Day weekend pre- and post-sales. "I think this reflects that consumer issues are worse than what everybody else expected," he said.

Beemer, who heads America's Research Group, which tracks consumer shopping habits, said shopper traffic was up 5 percent compared with last year's Memorial Day sales, but "when they did go shopping they spent a lot less money."

The International Council of Shopping Centers calculated that sales fell, on average, 4.6 percent, the steepest monthly drop of the past year. But ICSC Chief Economist Michael Niemira noted that May's steep decline was because of the absence of Wal-Mart's results for the first time, and tough comparisons to spring 2008 when $78 billion in tax rebates were delivered to consumers in May and June.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the world's largest retailer, has switched to reporting on a quarterly basis. Wal-Mart accounts for 10 percent of retail spending.

The monthly figures, known as same-store or comparable-store results, compare sales in May 2009 with sales from May from a year earlier at stores open at least a year. They are considered one of the most accurate indicators of a retail chain's performance.

The nation's two biggest warehouse club chains -- Costco Wholesale Corp. and BJ's Wholesale Club Inc. -- said the drop in gasoline prices since May 2008 contributed to their hefty overall declines. Even though the price of a gallon of gasoline rose 42 cents in May -- and is now $2.39 in the Bergen-Passaic market -- gasoline was still cheaper than it was a year ago.

Teen retailer Aeropostale Inc., one of the retailers that have been bucking the recession, continued to fly high, with same-store sales up 19 percent. Aeropostale, which has back offices in Wayne and often uses its Willowbrook Mall store to test new concepts, is benefiting from its position as a value-oriented teen retailer.

In contrast, Abercrombie & Fitch Co., which originally decided not to cut prices to lure shoppers, said its May sales tumbled 28 percent. Last month, the company succumbed to pressure and said it has started to reduce prices.

Gap Inc. sales fell 5 percent, but that was an improvement over May, 2008 when its sales fell 14 percent. Old Navy, the budget division of the Gap empire, had the best May, with sales at Old Navy stores up 3 percent.

Ken Perkins, head of research firm Retail Metrics, said the May numbers show that despite other evidence that the "recession is losing steam" retail chains "are still under pressure as consumers face mounting job losses, declining home values, rising gas prices and an increased necessity to save."

Luxury chains and department-store operators continued to be the weakest sectors, with Saks Inc. and Neiman Marcus reporting double- digit declines.

Department-store operator Macy's Inc. said same-store sales slipped 9.1 percent, slightly better than the 9.3 percent drop Wall Street expected.

There have been signs that the gloom of recession is lifting. On Thursday, the Labor Department said the number of Americans on the unemployment rolls fell slightly for the first time in 20 weeks, while the tally of new jobless claims also dipped.

In May, the Conference Board's Consumer Confidence Index rose to its highest level since September. And several retailers including BJ's and TJX Cos. indicated traffic improved in May.

***

(SIDEBAR)

May sales less than sunny

Same-store % sales changes:

Aeropostale Inc. up 19%

Kohl's Corp. down 0.4%

Target Corp. down 6.1%

J.C. Penney Co. down 6.7%

BJ's Wholesale Club Inc. down 6.8%

Costco Wholesale Corp. down 7%

Children's Place Retail Stores Inc. down 9%

Nordstrom Inc. down 13.1%

Saks Inc. down 26.6%

Abercrombie & Fitch Co. down 28%

Source: Company reports

***

This article contains material from The Associated Press. E- mail: verdon@northjersey.com

***

(c) 2009 Record, The; Bergen County, N.J.. Provided by ProQuest LLC. All rights Reserved.

A service of YellowBrix, Inc.