Retail Retrenchment

Pedestrians walk by a Sharper Image store in Beverly Hills, Calif., Wednesday, Feb. 27, 2008. Gadget seller Sharper Image Corp. filed for bankruptcy protection last month and plans to shutter nearly half of its 184 stores. (AP Photo/Nick Ut)

Retail Sales

Shoppers walk next to sale sign at a mall in San Jose, Calif., Tuesday, Aug. 12, 2008. Americans scaled back their spending even more in September, resulting in weak sales for many retailers, as already skittish consumers grappled with the financial meltdown that's spreading around the globe. (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma)

Retail Sales

A customer checks out at a Target store in Lombard, Ill., on Thursday, Dec. 6, 2007. Retailers reported mixed sales for November despite the strong start to the holiday shopping season. (AP Photo/M. Spencer Green)

RETAIL SALES

** FILE ** A customer looks at a catalog next to a screen that can order merchandise online at a JC Penney's store in a Fricso, Texas file photo from March 1, 2006. Consumers seemingly unfazed by rising gasoline prices spent enthusiastically during April, giving retailers strong sales for the month. (AP Photo/LM Otero, File)

Retail Sales

Customers at the check out stand at a Costco store in Mountain View, Calif., Thursday, June 7, 2007. Americans shopped hesitantly in May, giving retailers some relief from a dismal showing in April but still raising questions about how strong consumer spending will be in the months ahead. As the nation's merchants reported results Thursday, the disappointments included Wal-Mart Stores Inc., Macy's Inc. and teen retailer Abercrombie & Fitch Co. Costco Wholesale Corp., Kohl's Corp. and luxury retailers like Saks Inc. beat expectations. (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma)

Retail outlook still dim

H. Lee Scott Jr., president and CEO of Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., addresses the National Retail Federation, Monday, Jan. 12, 2009 in New York. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)

Economy Retail Sales

Kelli and Mark Beaver of Duncannon, Pa., load thier purchases into the back of their red mini van at WAL-MART Supercenter in Mechanicsburg, Pa., Thursday, June 12, 2008. Retail sales jumped by the largest amount in six months in May as 57 million economic stimulus payments helped offset the headwinds buffeting consumers. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

Retail Sales Costco

** FILE ** In this Oct. 8, 2008 file photo, shoppers maneuver through the Costco store in the Lincoln Park neighborhood of Chicago. Warehouse-store chain Costco Wholesale Corp. on Thursday, Dec. 4, 2008 said its same-store sales dropped 5 percent in November, dragged down by declining gas prices and foreign exchange rates. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast, file)

Weak retail sales in June raise worries

FILE - In this May 27, 2009 file photo, shoppers wait in line to check out at Costco in Mountain View, Calif. Many retailers are reporting sharp sales declines for June, as rainy weather and escalating job worries kept consumers from buying summer staples like shorts and dresses. (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma, file)

Analysts expect weak retail report cards

In this photo made Wednesday, Aug. 19, 2009, a customer looks at clothing at a Gap store in Palo Alto, Calif. The results from Thursday's retail sales report for August will give insight into whether consumers opened their wallets after months of keeping them closed amid the recession, and how well back-to-school offerings such as trendy jeans, dresses and T-shirts are being received. (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma)

Retailers afraid consumers are getting used to low prices

Shoppers on New York's Madison Ave. pass a DKNY clothing store promoting a sale of up to 90 per cent off, Monday, Jan. 5, 2009. Fears about the effects of rampant discounting on shoppers' psyche and its impact on stores' profit are running high as many retailers are expected to announce same-store sales declines of more than 10 percent for December on Thursday, marking the third consecutive monthly decrease, according to the International Council of Shopping Centers. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)

Retail sales drop, but less than expected

Economy still vunerable as retail sales fall

In this April 9, 2009 photo, shoppers including Poi Wong and her daughter Jamie Guenthner, 7, foreground, shop at a Wal-Mart store in the Porter Ranch area of Los Angeles. Retail sales fell unexpectedly in March, delivering a setback to hopes that the economy's steep slide could be bottoming out. (AP Photo/Reed Saxon)

Economy still vunerable as retail sales fall

Stores, food makers compete on retail prices

Retail sales dip raises worries of recovery

Maylen Williams, 8, looks at a pair of jeans while doing back-to-school shopping at a Limited Too store on Monday, Aug. 28, 2006 in New York. Consumers boosted their spending by the largest amount in six months and the back-to-school shopping season also got off to a strong start this summer. The Commerce Department reported Thursday Aug. 31 that spending in July rose by a healthy 0.8 percent, double the 0.4 percent gain in June. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)

Retailers, service cos. gain as people stay home

In this May 4, 2009 photo, House Doctors worker John Crawford paints the wall of a home in Cincinnati. As Americans grow accustomed during the recession to spending more time at home and living in the same places longer, some home-improvement companies are regaining monemtum. (AP Photo/Tom Uhlman)

Weak retail sales in June raise worries

Sale signs are posted at The Children's Place at a mall in San Jose, Calif., Thursday, July 9, 2009. Retailers in all sectors reported weak same-store sales Thursday, but mall-based clothing stores suffered most in June compared with a year earlier, while some discounters scraped by. (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma)

Retail sales rise 1.4 percent in October

Chart shows seasonally adjusted retail sales

Retail sales figures point to subdued holidays

Chart shows seasonally adjusted retail sales

Retailers’ results lead market after wobbly start

A customer tries out a digital camera while shopping at a Costco store Tuesday, March 24, 2009, in Shoreline, Wash., a suburb of Seattle. Consumers increased spending for a second straight month in February even though their incomes slipped due to continuing massive layoffs. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson)

Meltdown forcing retailers to think smaller

In this photo made Friday, Sept. 4, 2009, a customer looks at no-frills laptops (which start around $300) at a Best Buy in Chicago. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

Meltdown forcing retailers to think smaller

In this photo made Wednesday, Sept. 2, 2009, a price tag for one of Best Buy's Insignia brand TVs is shown at a Best Buy in Chicago. From Best Buy's private-label televisions to Kroger's pizzas to house-brand men's shirts at Saks Fifth Avenue, stores are putting more stock in store-label products, which cost less for consumers and tend to be more profitable. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)