The decline for the 32 chains reporting results came after two months of increases for the industry, and is particularly significant because of an easy year-over-year comparison.
"These data suggested that the holiday season got off to a weak start in November for retailers--though the tail-end of the month saw relatively strong sales for electronics and online spending, but that seemed to be at the expense of some in-store performance and apparel demand, in particular," wrote ICSC chief economist and director of research Michael P. Niemira.
Hurt by above-average temperatures, apparel sales declined 0.4%. Abercrombie & Fitch's weakness continued, with a 17% drop, while Ross Stores posted an 8% rise.
Department store sales dropped 4.5%, with luxury stores declining 6.9% and the teen segment down 5.5%. Dillards' sales dropped 11%, while JCPenney reported a 4.5% drop. Nordstrom, however, posted a 2.2% increase. Discounters rose 0.6%, with TJX's 8.0% increase offset by a 1.5% drop at Target. Drugstores rose 2.3%, as Walgreens sales rose 3.9% and Rite Aid's dropped 0.8%. Wholesale clubs reported a 1.9% increase.
Retail Forward, a Columbus, Ohio-based consultancy, reported a 0.9% November same-store sales gain, adding that Black Friday was strong, and that last month's increase, while not as strong as October's 2.3% gain, was still much better than November 2008's 7.7% decline.
"Shoppers continue to give signs that they are ready to loosen the grip on their spending plans, but at the same time remain very cautious and deal-focused in their spending," said Frank Badillo, senior economist at Retail Forward.
ICSC-Goldman Sachs surveys have found that shoppers are planning to hit the stores later in the holiday season, boosting hopes for December. ICSC anticipates a 2% to 3% increase, for a total holiday sales rise of approximately 1%.
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