• by Sarah Mahoney  @mahoney_sarah, October 6, 2011

 

Consumers ignored the scary headlines and handwringing and went clothes shopping anyway in September, creating solid sales gains for the nation's biggest retailers. Spurred by chillier weather and a strong back-to-school season, chains like Macy's, Target, and Kohl's say they are encouraged by people willing to shop when they see products (and prices) that appeal to them.

Overall, chain-store sales rose 5.5% according to the International Council of Shopping Centers. And luxury sales climbed 10.4%. "Sales, although receiving a lift from fuel, still posted a very healthy gain for the month of September," Michael P. Niemira, VP/chief economist for ICSC, says in its report. "While luxury was once again a key driver of retail spending, new or temporary product lines at mass merchants aided in lifting industry sales as well."

Kantar Retail's index, which includes a slightly different group of chains, rose 5.7%. "The resiliency of shoppers in September, especially at apparel and department stores, partly reflects unavoidable back-to-school purchases amid higher apparel prices. At the same time, sales are holding up as shoppers' spending intentions fall off much less dramatically than the steep falloff in consumer confidence," Doug Hermanson, Kantar Retail economist, says in its report.

Back-to-school shopping spurred Macy's sales to a 4.9% gain in comparable sales. "Despite the persistently negative macroeconomic news," Terry J. Lundgren, its chairman/CEO says in its release, "our customers are responding to fashion and uniqueness in the assortment at Macy's and Bloomingdale's. We are feeling quite confident that we will continue to gain market share as we head toward the holiday selling season."

At Kohl's, same-store sales advanced 4.1%, and at Dillard's, they rose 3%. High-end chains did even better, with sales jumping 10.7% at Nordstrom, and rising 9.3% at Saks.

The news wasn't so good at JCPenney, where same-store sales fell a disappointing 0.6%, or Bon-Ton, with a 3.6% decline. And at the Gap, overall comparable-store sales fell 4%, with all four of its divisions, Gap North America, Old Navy, Banana Republic and International, negative for the month.

Costco, meanwhile, posted an 11% game in comparable store results. It also announced strong quarterly results, and a rise in its membership fee.