Retailers report solid gains for August

NEW YORK — Americans showed their resilience in August as the down economy, the stock market and even a natural disaster were not enough to keep them from shopping.

Besides old worries about job losses, stagnant wages and falling housing values, shoppers had new troubles in August that were expected to keep them from heading to stores. They faced higher prices for everything from food to clothes. Wild stock market swings after the federal debt was downgraded fueled concerns about another recession. Then, Hurricane Irene hit last week in the middle of the busy back-to-school season.

Despite those factors, revenue in August was up 4.6 percent at stores open at least a year among 26 retailers — a key industry measure — according to the International Council of Shopping Centers. That's in line with the 4 percent to 5 percent that analysts predicted at the beginning of the month before all much of the events occurred.

"Retailers weathered a number of storms to turn into what's expected to be a solid back-to-school and August selling season," said Ken Perkins, president of Research Limited LLC.

Retailers' revenue results are closely monitored because consumer spending accounts for 70 percent of U.S. economic activity and is critical for a strong economy. This month's revenue gains underscore the changing spending habits of American consumers, who now are thriftier, but are willing to open their wallets to spend on basics, especially for their children. In August, for instance, many consumers were buying clothes and supplies for their children, giving retailers a needed boost during the second-busiest shopping season of the year.

"Consumers are looking beyond the noise and focusing on their own needs, and to some extent that is helping the retail sector and helping the economy," said Michael P.Niemira, chief economist at the ICSC. "When you have so many of these events, the consumer seems to be de-sensitized."

The results give a peek into consumers' moods, but many retailers, particularly ones that cater to lower-income customers, do not report on Thursday. Among the big retailers that did not report sales on a monthly basis are Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the world's largest retailer, and Home Depot, the nation's largest home improvement chain. Still, Thursday's reports are seen as a hopeful sign since many big retailers reported strong results against the odds.

Luxury chains eased worries that wealthy shoppers would pull back because of the wild swings in the stock market in August. Nordstrom Inc., for instance, had a 6.7 percent gain, higher than the 4.8 percent increase analysts had expected.