Showers Dampen April Retail Sales

April showers washed out sales at many of the nation’s largest stores last month as the cold and rainy weather discouraged shoppers from buying spring merchandise.

“The unseasonably cool weather left us with sales marginally below expectations,” said Jeffrey Feiner, a retail industry analyst at Salomon Brothers Inc. “And the biggest losers came on the apparel end,” including Gap Inc., Limited Inc. and Kmart Corp.

April’s figures were also dampened by the absence of Easter sales. Easter arrived in March this year for most U.S. Christians after having fallen in April last year.

For many stores, sales have been lagging for the last year. Despite the high levels of consumer confidence, many shoppers still watch their spending and put value above all else.

“People are saving money and trying to pay off debt,” said Kurt Barnard, retail consultant and president of Barnard’s Retail Marketing Report. “They are looking for things that they can really afford.”

That’s helped discounters and moderately priced department stores, which posted the strongest gains in April. Sears, Roebuck and Co., J.C. Penney Co. Inc. and WalMart Stores Inc. reported healthy sales for the month.

Upscale retailers, however, had a particularly weak month as consumers shied away from luxury purchases. Neiman Marcus’ samestore sales fell last month, while at Saks Fifth Avenue, sales were only up slightly.