For the retailers who still report monthly comp store sales, December was a hit-or-miss month. Unseasonal weather and increased markdowns and promotions affected sales both positively and negatively according to analysts Richard Hastings of Global Hunter Securities and Phil Leichliter of J. Philip Group.

 

Warmer weather on the East Coast brought more people into stores, however, according to Hastings, "when the weather failed to conform to seasonally colder temperatures in most areas, the most seasonal category — apparel — went into a volatile tailspin, pulling down prices further."

 

With items not selling as fast as expected, many retailers were forced to increase the number of markdowns and promotions in December. "A trend that must be recognized is that the consumer wants a bargain," says Leichliter. He continues to note that increased promotions will have a greater impact on the following year. "Full-price retailers have always used promotional activity to stimulate business, and the more they use it, the more they will need to do the same next year to anniversary those sales numbers."

 

However, the increase in markdowns and promotions also benefitted some retailers. "The opportunity to clear out inventories was partly successful," says Hastings. "[It] sets the stage for a healthier start to Q1 2012."

 

Here are the top and bottom five retailers in December.

 

Top 5 Retailers (based on same-store sales for December 2011 compared to December 2010):

 

Zumiez                        +10%

Ross Stores                 +9%

Buckle                         +8.9%

Nordstrom                   +8.7%

TJX                             +8%

 

TJX, which was on the bottom five list in October with a 3% increase in same-store sales, saw an 8% increase in same-store sales in December, putting it in the top five list. Nordstrom returns to the top five list with an 8.7% increase, and retailers Zumiez and Buckle also return after making the top five list multiple times in 2011 with a 10% and 8.9% increase respectively.

 

Bottom 5 Retailers (based on same-store sales for December 2011 compared to December 2010):

 

Wet Seal                     -3.7%

Cato Corp.                  -1%

Bon-Ton                      -0.7%

Fred's Inc.                   -0.4%

Duckwall-Alco             -0.3%

 

Wet Seal leads the bottom five list with a 3.7% decrease in same-store sales. "After a slow start to the month, we generated nearly flat comparable store sales over the final two weeks of December," comments Susan McGalla, CEO of Wet Seal.

 

Also making the list are Bon-Ton with a 0.7% decrease and Fred's Inc. with a 0.4% decrease.