Retail data: Americans still cautious in August

NEW YORK — Not even skinny jeans for $20 are pulling Americans into stores.

Nervous about jobs and an unraveling economy, shoppers spent — at best — only slightly more this August than last, according to data released Wednesday by MasterCard's SpendingPulse.

The figures confirm a flurry of anecdotal evidence that retailers will be disappointed by this year's back-to-school season — a time they see as second only to the winter holidays.

"We are still not seeing a rebound," said Michael McNamara, vice president of research and analysis for SpendingPulse, which includes transactions in all forms including cash.

The good news is for consumers: Those who hoped for prices to fall and held off spending may be in luck if stores deepen discounts further to get rid of fall merchandise.

SpendingPulse's figures show shoppers spent more on children's clothing and consumer electronics than last August. But they pulled back on most other merchandise, including women's and men's fashions and luxury goods. In fact, spending in August on many types of nonessentials remained about where it was five years ago.

Women's clothing has been hit particularly hard, with revenue shrinking to about $300 million — about the same as 2004 and 2005, according to McNamara.

Online sales, up for a 13th month in a row, remained a rare bright spot. They rose 7.2 percent from a year ago, when they were up 1.5 percent.

All the figures compare spending from Aug. 1 through last Saturday with the first four weeks of August 2009.

Unrelenting hot weather in most of the country depressed shoppers' appetite for fall clothing. But shoppers also were reluctant to buy jeans and other items they could have worn right away.

Stifel Nicolaus analyst Richard Jaffe noted that heavy discounting on jeans that started in July hasn't grabbed much attention.

"I'm fairly convinced that we are seeing changes in consumer behavior that will be sustained for a long time," Jaffe said.

Shoppers need to be "very convinced and excited" before paying for anything, Jaffe said: "It's becoming even more pronounced now."