Retailers Register Poor April Results
Calendar changes and cool weather, worsened the year-old slump in consumer spending in April, sales reports from the nationÛªs largest general retailers showed yesterday.</br></br>- "Put it all together, itÛªs a dismal picture,Û said Linda Kristiansen, a retail industry analyst with the investment firm Dean Witter Reynolds Inc.</br></br>The early arrival of Easter this year meant consumers did their spring shopping in March. That siphoned off sales from April and created an unfavorable comparison with the April 1987 performance.</br></br>ÐÊ ÛÏWe were expecting soft sales because of the change in the calendar,Û said Jeffrey B. Edelman, a retail industry analyst with the investment ÛÏThe weather was cold and that hurt spring apparel as well as lawn and garden and seasonal merchandise,Û Kristiansen said.</br></br>These quirks exacerbated the sluggish trend in consumer spending that began last spring. That is a matter of concern for economists because consumer spending accounts for two-thirds of the gross national product.