Retailers feel the pain

NEW YORK — What was once a dull pain behind the eyes is threatening to become a full blown migraine for the nation’s retailers. On Thursday, they reported one of their worst monthly sales performances ever, raising concerns that higher gas prices and a weakening housing market are eating away at consumer spending.

Given projections for more housing problems and higher fuel demand during the summer, prospects for retailers seem even dimmer.

“Consumers are not feeling quite as healthy from an economic standpoint as they did last year at this time,” said John Morris, managing director at Wachovia Securities.

As retailers released their April sales figures, Wal-Mart Stores Inc. recorded a rare drop — the weakest performance since the world’s largest retailer began publishing monthy sales in 1980, according to John Simley, a company spokesman. But April’s disappointments crossed all segments of the industry, striking stores as varied as apparel retailer Abercrombie & Fitch Co. and Macy’s operator Federated Department Stores Inc.

Analysts had already expected last month to be weak after an early Easter motivated many consumers to do their holiday shopping in March, siphoning away part of April’s business. But sales were much softer than expected, raising concerns that retailers will also see disappointing results in the months ahead.

The UBS-International Council of Shopping Centers sales tally of 53 stores posted a decline of 2.4 percent, the biggest drop since the index started tracking the data back in 1970. The tally is based on same-store sales or sales at stores open at least a year, which are considered a key indicator of retailers’ health. Michael P. Niemira, chief economist at the ICSC, called the drop in same-store sales a rarity, noting it marked the third time since 1970 that the overall index declined.