U.S. Retail Sales Slow Unexpectedly Sales momentum for retailers slowed in April. The 19 chains tracked by Thomson Reuters reported a thin 0.8 percent increase in sales at stores open at least a year, missing the 1.5 percent gain that analysts were expecting. Combined with strong sales at the start of the year, the lackluster April results indicated that an early burst of consumer spending did not last long. "While projections were that consumer spending would continue to accelerate, there are signs that it may be slowing," said Alison Jatlow Levy, a retail strategist at the consulting firm Kurt Salmon. However, she said, it didn't seem to be a recession-era pullback from shoppers. "The new consumer behavior is, "I spend in little splurges," or in peaks based on time of year." Even after accounting for Easter's changing place in the calendar, retail sales were rising more slowly. For March and April combined, retailers" same-store sales increased by 2.5 percent, versus the 5.4 percent gain they posted for the same period a year ago, according to Thomson Reuters. Because spending leading up to Easter tends to be stronger than the weeks after it, analysts usually combine March and April sales figures to account for changes in Easter's date from year to year. Stores catering to particular consumers reported the relatively good same-store sales for April. Zumiez, a teen store, had the best results, with a 10.1 percent increase versus April 2010, followed by the high-end Nordstrom department store and the clothing discounter Ross Stores. Ross and the TJX Companies, which also beat expectations, both increased their first-quarter earnings estimates. TJX operates Marshalls and T.J.Maxx stores. At the bottom end of the scale was another teen chain, Wet Seal, where same-store sales declined 9.6 percent, followed by Walgreens and Cato. Kohl's continued to struggle, reporting a drop of 3.5 percent. Macy's, Saks and Target all reported lower same-store sales than analysts expected. Macy's increased 1.2 percent, Target 1.1 percent, and Saks 2 percent. Macy's blamed the calendar, saying that not just Easter but a later Mother's Day had hurt its April sales, while Target said some spending had been pulled earlier into the year. The usually strong Limited Brands, which owns Victoria's Secret, continued its solid streak, with an increase of 6 percent. Lingerie like the Dream Angels Bra Collection was popular, the company said. Gap Inc. as a whole missed analyst estimates, with a 2 percent decrease in same-store sales because of disappointing sales at Old Navy and the international division. Yet the long-troubled domestic Gap stores themselves seemed to continue a slow turnaround, with sales at that unit increasing 4 percent, versus analyst estimates of 1 percent. Retailers appeared to be less promotional this April than a year ago, John D. Morris, BMO Capital Markets analyst, wrote in a note to clients, "owing to better markdown control and reduced inventories."