NEW YORK — Well-heeled shoppers held off on buying $600 stilettos and other luxuries last month, luxury stores reported.
Advertisement
Neiman Marcus Group Inc. and Saks Inc. suffered sharp declines. Many mall-based apparel stores and department stores — including J.C. Penney Co. Inc. and American Eagle Outfitters Inc. — find themselves mired in a deep sales slump.
American consumers went into hiding in September, leaving retailers with dismal sales and an uncertain future well beyond the holiday season as the fallout from the financial meltdown pushes spending even lower.
As retailers reported their monthly sales figures Wednesday, even discounters weren’t immune to shoppers’ mounting worries about their financial security.
"Discretionary spending has come to a trickle,” said Ken Perkins, president of research company RetailMetrics LLC.
Walmart Stores Inc., the world’s largest retailer, said sales of discretionary items were weak as it posted solid results that were nevertheless a bit below expectations. Target Corp. fared far worse, reporting a bigger-than-expected drop and said it expects problems with its credit card business to last through the rest of the year as customers have trouble making payments.
Thank you for joining our conversations on newsok. We encourage your discussions but ask that you stay within the bounds of our terms and conditions. Please help us by reporting comments that violate these guidelines. To review our rules of engagement, go to Commenting and posting policy.
Fitness and Nutrition
Visit NewsOK's latest Know it and find out why proper diet and exercise are key.
Related to this story
Articles
Resale retail equates to quick cash for some in... 10/09/2008 In today’s tumultuous economy, many shoppers are seeking out thrift store bargains and selling to resale stores for quick cash.
Nationally, the...
Something to say about this topic? Submit a Letter to the Editor online
Thank you for joining our conversations on newsok. We encourage your discussions but ask that you stay within the bounds of our terms and conditions. Please help us by reporting comments that violate these guidelines. To review our rules of engagement, go to Commenting and posting policy.
Log in below or sign up (it's free).