• by Sarah Mahoney  @mahoney_sarah, April 9, 2009

While no one was expecting miracles, it looks like March sales fell below even modest expectations, with many retailers posting more nosebleed declines.

Overall, composite March same-store sales growth weakened to -0.8% from both the prior month and the prior year, says TNS Retail Forward, which tracks about 40 leading chains. "After some encouraging results last month, shopper anxiety reemerged in March," the Columbus, Ohio-based consulting company says in its monthly report -- adding that its research shows that a growing concern about job security, household income and the value of investment portfolios are throwing cold water on near-term spending plans.

Some of the softness, however, has more to do with a slight shift in the calendar, due to the later-than-usual Easter holiday. At Walmart, for example, while comparable-store sales in the U.S. made a slight gain of 0.6% during the five-week March period, company executives predict that April sales will benefit from the late Easter holiday. And while average ticket sales fell, the company says it is also encouraged that its comparable-store traffic increased for the sixth consecutive quarter. The Bentonville, Ark.-based chain says it saw a mid-single-digit increase in home and "do-it-yourself" categories.

Executives at Target, which saw a comparable-store sales decline of 6.3%, are also expecting a brighter April. "March sales were modestly better than our planned range, and reflected the adverse impact of the move of pre-Easter holiday shopping days," the company says in its release. "Our guests continue to be cautious, but we have begun to see encouraging signs in the operating results of both of our business segments. In light of the Easter shift and recent trends, we expect our April reported comparable-store sales results to be essentially flat compared to last year."

But in the rest of the retail world, there was more than enough gloom to go around. Apparel continues to get slammed. Overall, the Gap says its comparable-store sales fell 8%, but that reflects flat results at Old Navy, a 14% decline at its Gap flagship brand, and a 16% drop at Banana Republic. Limited Brands, parent of Victoria's Secret and Bath & Body Works, says comparable-store sales fell 9%.

While all major department stores saw significant drops, the largest were again concentrated at the high end, with same-store sales at Neiman Marcus falling a dizzying 29.9%, Saks' down 23.6%, and Nordstrom's off 13.5%. Results at Dillard's declined 19%, Macy's, 9.2%, J.C. Penney 7.2%, and Kohl's 4.3%.

The teen segment included some big losers, with sales results at the pricey Abercrombie & Fitch tumbling a breathtaking 34%, while comparable-store sales dropped 16% at American Eagle Outfitter and 11.4% at Wet Seal. But the segment also included some of the month's only gainers: The Buckle says its same-store results jumped 14.7%, Hot Topic's gained 7.1%, and Aeropostale advanced by 3%.