Retailers report solid gains in sales for July

Associated Press

NEW YORK

The back-to-school season got off to a strong start as discounts and high temperatures in July drove shoppers to air-conditioned malls. But merchants worry that momentum won’t continue through the remainder of the second-biggest shopping period of the year as the weather gets cold and the deals dry up.

Despite a flow of bad economic news that kept consumer confidence shaky, a number of retailers reported July revenue Thursday that beat Wall Street estimates, including discounter Target, department store Macy’s and luxury chain Saks. The International Council of Shopping Centers’ preliminary tally of retailers’ revenue at stores open at least a year was up 4.6 percent, a slower pace than June’s 6.9 percent gain but in line with forecasts.

Though the numbers offer encouraging signs for the start to the back-to-school shopping period, which runs roughly from mid-July through September, there are concerns that shoppers will stick to the habits of the Great Recession by focusing on necessities and waiting for sales. That could be a big problem for retailers, which are raising prices in order to offset rising fuel, labor and other production costs.

The back-to-school season accounts for 6.1 percent of annual retailers’ revenue, according to the International Council of Shopping Centers.