The report blamed hurricanes Frances, Ivan and Jeanne, and a slow back-to-school season for the "soft" results. The results are a continuation of the weak year-over-year monthly sales results retailers have reported since June, the report says.

Apparel was hit the hardest with a 1.1% drop overall. Both Limited and Ross Stores saw their sales fall 5%, and Gap Inc. posted a 3% decline. Ann Taylor had a 1.4% gain, but company officials said yesterday that the chain lost $3 million as a result of the hurricanes and they were reducing their third-quarter earnings guidance to 28 cents to 32 cents per share from 48 cents to 50 cents per share.

Department stores' sales were also down, by 0.7%, overall. Saks Inc.'s sales fell by 4%, and Dillard's reported a 3% decrease. Meanwhile, Neiman Marcus had a 6.3% jump, and Nordstroms' sales shot up 6.2%.