Cautious Shoppers Pull Retail Sales Down

NEW YORK -- Many U.S. retailers are reporting sales declines in May as shoppers continue to shop cautiously.

Costco(COST Quote), Hot Topic (HOTT Quote) and Stage Stores (SSI Quote) are all reporting drops more than analysts expected. However, Buckle(BKE Quote) says sales rose above expectations.

Two factors might weigh on May results. A year ago, sales benefited from fiscal stimulus checks. And Wal-Mart(WMT Quote), which has recently reported positive results, stopped issuing monthly sales data as of this month. That is likely to hurt overall results. Analysts expect a 4.1% drop.

Same-store sales, or sales at stores open at least a year, are a key indicator of retailer performance because they measure growth at existing stores rather than newly opened ones. ...