NEW YORK (AP) -- Several retailers are reporting modest sales gains for September as shoppers, worried about the partial government shutdown and overall economy pulled back from the prior month.
The results increase concerns about how shoppers will spend for the crucial holiday season.
Revenue at stores opened at least a year — a measure of a retailer's health— rose 2.7 percent in September, according to a preliminary tally of 9 retailers by the International Council of Shopping Centers. That was a slower pace than the 3.5 percent increase posted in August.
Only a sliver of retail chains report monthly sales figures, and the list doesn't include Wal-Mart Stores, Macy's Inc. and many other large chains. But it offers some clues into consumer spending.
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