U.S. retail sales hit worst record in years, apparel retail stores hit hard

U.S. retail chains had their worst sales in more than 30 years in October as consumers slashed spending amid the financial crisis.
​
The International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC) described the current retail sales situation as “extremely bad” and said October sales were the worst for the same period in 35 years.
​
ICSC said it had lowered its forecast due to expected weak holiday sales. Retail sales are now expected to rise 1% in November and December, compared with a previous forecast of 1.7% growth.
​
“How much more consumers will spend less is a huge unknown,” said Piper Jaffray analyst Jeff Klinefelter. “With savings rates at historic lows and consumers’ access to credit limited, I think people are concerned that a perfect storm is brewing. .”
​
Walmart is one of the few bright spots. Sales at its U.S. chain stores open for at least a year increased 2.4%, better than analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected a 1.6% increase.
​
This is in stark contrast to sales at other discount stores.
​
Department stores, especially clothing retail stores, have been hardest hit. Consumers have cut back on purchases of discretionary items such as clothing, sometimes pinching pennies on even the most basic necessities.
​
Thomson Reuters data showed that the same-store sales index fell by 0.7% in October, which was higher than expected by a 0.3% decrease. 56% of the 34 retailers surveyed recorded worse-than-expected sales results.
​
Walmart said it will launch new weekly specials on thousands of items through Christmas as it seeks to gain more market share during the key holiday sales season.