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Updated Friday, August 6, 2010 10:32 am TWN, Reuters

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Retail sales are below forecasts due to frugality

NEW YORK -- Retailers posted July sales below analysts' expectations in the latest sign that skittishness about high unemployment and the economy in general are causing consumers to cut spending and focus on essentials.

Some retailers that did manage to eke out gains, including several department stores, did so by taking customers from rivals, rather than from an increase in overall spending.

The 28 retailers tracked by Thomson Reuters reported a 2.9 percent rise in July sales at stores open at least one year, missing Wall Street forecasts of 3.1 percent. Of those, 17 reported lower-than-expected sales, while nine beat estimates.

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