Discounters Expected To Benefit From Weak March Retail Sales
NEW YORK -(Dow Jones)- To get an idea of where retailers think the customers are in these economically tenuous times, look no farther than Target Corp. (TGT) . The company is discounting more than Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT) on many kinds of consumer staples.
When retailers report monthly same-store sales Thursday, it is widely expected that the numbers will show a decline in business for the first time since last April.
All told, Thomson Financial, which polls Wall Street analysts, is looking for a 0.1% decline in March buying.
In addition to the still-sluggish economy, companies contended with the Easter holiday coming very early this year - in March. Sales suffered because Easter is generally the time inventory is switched from winter to spring, but weather in March didn’t really cooperate by warming up.
Rainy weather in some parts of the country also had an impact, and there were no standout fashions to draw customers in.
Just about the only retail group not expected to suffer too severely are the discounters, especially warehouse clubs that are benefiting from their lower bulk costs and the gasoline they sell.
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