• by Sarah Mahoney  @mahoney_sarah, September 2, 2010

With strong performances by such brands as Victoria's Secret, Macy's, Nordstrom, and Costco, retailers posted somewhat better-than-expected results for the month of August.

Despite experts' concerns that consumers were spending less as economic news worsened over the summer, Kantar Retail says that retail sales grew by 3.4% in August, better than the 2.9% same-store sales gain last month, and a happy improvement from the 2.4% decline in August of last year. The International Council of Shopping Centers says its index, which tracks a slightly different group of stores, posted a 3.2% year-over-year comparable-store gain, slightly above expectations.