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Wal-Mart Stores reported Thursday that sales in September were at the low-end of of its own forecast as its mostly paycheck-to-paycheck customers sustained to pull back on optional purchases other than clothing and groceries.
The No. 1 retailer said sales at its stores open at least a year, a key measure of retail performance known as same-store sales, rose 2.4% last month. Wal-Mart (WMT, Fortune 500) had forecast a gain of between 2% and 3%.
Wal-Mart said gains were led by grocery and clothing purchases, and that other discretionary purchases were soft.
For October, the company said it expects same-store sales to boost between 1% to 2%.
Ken Perkins, president of sales tracker Retail Metrics, said he expects other discount chains to report alike trends as more consumers clamp down.
“The financial crisis that’s taken place leading to a credit market freeze is clearly hurting an already soft spending environment,” Perkins said. “Today’s sales numbers will offer a clear-cut warning signal that we’re heading for a very difficult holiday sales season,” he said.
That’s a huge problem for retailers given that the gift-buying months of November and December account for more than half of merchants profits and sales for the year.
