• by Sarah Mahoney  @mahoney_sarah, July 9, 2009

Whether you blame it on the rain or the recession, consumer spending dampened more than expected in June, with sales sinking for most chains. Retail Forward, which tracks 32 companies, says that same-store sales slipped 4.7% in June -- somewhat worse than the 4.2% decline last month, and down sharply from the 2.2% gain in June, 2008.

"Shoppers appear to be divided about whether they need to make more changes in their shopping habits," the Columbus, Ohio-based consulting company says in its report. "And that seems to be contributing to the month-to-month ups and downs in the retail sales numbers."

And the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC), which tracks a slightly different group of chains, says its index fell 5.1%, and pointed out that the weather didn't help: It was the coldest June in five years, which makes it tougher on retailers trying to sell bathing suits and sundresses.

With the exception of Target Corp., which posted a worse-than-expected 6.2% decline, value-conscious chains offered the month's bright spots. For example, teen retailer Aeropostale posted an admirable same-store increase of 12%, while Abercrombie & Fitch, the priciest of the teen outfitters, turned in another enormous loss, with sales falling 32% in June.

And while off-price apparel chains TJX and Ross Stores reported gains of 4% and 1% respectively, luxury retailer Neiman Marcus says its results tanked 20.8%. Sales fell 10% at Nordstrom and 4.4% at Saks. Most mid-tier department stores continued to limp along with single-digit losses: Macy's sales dropped 8.9%, JCPenney 8.2% and Kohl's 5.6%.

BJ's Wholesale Club says same-store sales of merchandise gained 2.7% in June, with food sales jumping 6%. (Overall, its results fell just over 10%, due to the impact of last year's sky-high gasoline costs.) At rival Costco, same-store sales edged down 1%, excluding the impact of gasoline prices.

"Although June sales continued their very weak performance that has persisted since December 2008, there were some signs of improvement beneath the surface," ICSC notes in its report. "These nascent signs of improvement are important, since history suggests that consumer spending typically starts off sluggish prior to significant improvement."

In July, ICSC is predicting more of the same, and expects to see sales go down by about 5%.