Wal-Mart, Costco sales increase on discounts

Wal-Mart Stores, the worldÔÇÖs largest retailer, and Costco Wholesale said September sales rose as cash-strapped consumers worried by the Wall Street crisis looked for discounts on food and toiletries. ┬á Wal-MartÔÇÖs sales rose 2.4 percent for the month at stores open at least a year while Costco reported a 7 percent monthly sales increase. ┬á Discount retailers and wholesale stores have attracted shoppers worried by the US housing slump and credit crunch, leading them to tighten their budgets on purchases of non-necessities, ultimately benefiting retailers like Wal-Mart that sell food. ┬á The company had forecast a sales gain of 2 percent to 3 percent, and analysts on average were expecting the companyÔÇÖs same-store sales to increase 2.5 percent, according to Thomson Reuters Estimates.┬á Wal-mart said its boosted performance was widely due to sales of food and medicine, which helped balance store closures due to hurricanes that hit the US during September, but spending may stay slow during the significant holiday season while job losses increase and banks conserve cash.┬á Monthly sales for the retailer were off to a good start, but consumer spending quickly hit a wall in the last week or so of September with the arrival of headline news featuring Wall StreetÔÇÖs meltdown. ┬á┬á Eduardo Castro-Wright, President and CEO of Wal-Mart US said the company is in good standing. ÔÇ£In spite of both the impact from the hurricanes and the recent challenges to consumer confidence as a result of the economic environment, Walmart US had another period of solid comparable store sales performance.ÔÇØ┬á The Arkansas based retailer said it still expects third-quarter earnings to increase, and October US same-store sales to rise 1 percent to 2 percent.