Retailers Report Mixed September Sales

Seventeen retailers reported same-store sales on Thursday morning, showing a 3.6 percent year over year increase. Last year, same-store sales were up 6.4 percent. The numbers were good, but not great, as shoppers have been facing rising gasoline and food prices. According to data from Reuters, department store sales were weaker while apparel retailers showed strong growth. John Rooney, national retail & distribution sector lead for Deloitte Consulting, told Reuters that "I think September overall is going to be OK; I don't think it's going to be great." He added that "I think a lot of people are holding their breath now waiting for an election, and a lot of it is going to be focused on the economy. Then you'll see that once it clears up, November should be good, and December should be good." Retailers such as Gap

and Costco

beat expectations, while Macy's

, Target

and Kohl's

missed analysts' expectations. Gap reported that September sales rose 6 percent, which compared to estimates of 5.4 percent. Net sales in the period were $1.45 billion versus $1.35 billion a year ago. The stock closed up a little less than 1 percent to $37.10. Costco reported that its September same-store sales rose 6 percent and total sales were up 8 percent. Analysts had projected that same-store sales at the company would only be up 5.7 percent. COST added nearly 2 percent on Thursday to $101.48. Macy's said that its same-store sales rose only 2.5 percent to $2.358 billion, which was below expectations. Shares of Macy's closed the day with a gain of 0.46 percent to $39.67. Target's sales for September showed an increase of 2.1 percent which was essentially in-line with estimates. Shares rose a little less than 1 percent to $63.65. The company said that it would stop showing same-store sales figures on a monthly basis. Kohl's showed a drop in same-store sales of 2.7 percent for September which was well below analysts' estimates of an increase of 0.1 percent. Kohl's fell around 2.50 percent to $50.93 in the wake of the results. The TJX Companies

reported that its same-store sales were up 6 percent versus estimates of 4.4 percent. TJX added 0.46 percent to $45.42 on the session. Nordstrom

reported an increase of 4.4 percent in its September same-store sales which missed estimates call for a rise of 5.4 percent. The stock closed the day up 0.18 percent to $55.96. Ross Stores

said that its same-store sales rose 5 percent in September and total sales were up 10 percent to $800 million. ROST fell a little less than 2 percent to $65.40. The Buckle

reported that its same-store sales fell 0.8 percent in the month. The company's August SSS were up 4.5 percent. Shares fell more than 3 percent on Thursday to $44.71.