Weak retail sales in June raise worries

NEW YORK (AP) — Rain and escalating job worries dampened shoppers' appetite for summer staples like shorts and dresses more than expected in June, increasing concerns about the back-to-school shopping season.

Retailers in all sectors reported weak same-store sales Thursday, but mall-based clothing stores suffered most in June compared with a year earlier, while some discounters scraped by.

Even low-priced Costco Wholesale Corp. saw same-store sales decline from last year, when federal stimulus checks helped business. Wal-Mart Stores Inc. no longer reports same-store sales each month.

Same-store sales - sales at stores open at least a year - are considered a key indicator of a retailer's health.

"Consumers are under severe pressure on the job front, so discretionary spending is just not happening, "said Ken Perkins, president of retail consulting firm Retail Metrics LLC.

"This is not setting up well for the back-to-school season."

The International Council of Shopping Centers-Goldman Sachs same-store sales tally for June was down 5.1 percent from June 2008, worse than the latest forecast for a 4.5 percent decline. The results were slightly below the sluggish average pace of 4.4 percent seen since February, the start of retailers' fiscal year.