NEW YORK (CNN/Money) -
Major U.S. retailers released November sales results Thursday showing that consumers overall were more value-conscious than ever as the holiday shopping season got under way.
Discounters such as Wal-Mart and Target posted monthly sales gains, while apparel retailers and most department stores struggled for shoppers' dollars.
"This is a tepid start to the holidays. It's even a little disappointing," said Ken Perkins, retail analyst with Thomson Financial. "It looks like on aggregate November sales rose 3.4 percent. We were looking for an increase of 3.7 percent."
Kurt Barnard, president of Barnard's Retail Consulting Group, trimmed his December sales forecast Thursday.
"We were forecasting December comparable sales to rise between 3 and 4 percent. Now, we've now revised it down to between 3 to 3.5 percent," Barnard said. "Based on the numbers we saw today, we expect consumers to remain extremely cautious and spend only when they see a bargain."
Wal-Mart, the world's largest retailer, said same-store sales -- or sales at stores open at least a year -- grew 3.9 percent, at the mid-point of its earlier guidance of a 3 to 5 percent gain for the month.
Bentonville, Ark.-based Wal-Mart's net sales in the four-week period ended Nov. 28 were $21.6 billion, up 11.2 percent over the same period a year earlier.
The retailer last week broke its one-day sales record when it took in $1.52 billion on Black Friday, up from $1.43 billion on the same day a year earlier.
In a pre-recorded sales message, Wal-Mart (WMT: Research, Estimates) said food sales met the company's expectations for the holidays, and that automotive, pharmacy and seasonal items were among the strongest-performing categories last month.
Additionally, the company said the first two weeks showed the strongest performance but made no mention of the Thanksgiving holiday week.
"I think it's odd that Wal-Mart didn't say anything about last week," Perkins said. "I would have assumed that they would have made some comments about the momentum going into the holiday season, given their strong Black Friday results."
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He added, "November was by no means a blowout month for them, and Wal-Mart's December guidance is also relatively conservative. So Wal-Mart could be signaling caution gong forward."
The retailer expects December sales to grow in the 3 to 5 percent range. That compares with 2.3 percent growth for the same period a year ago.
Target Corp.'s (TGT: Research, Estimates) sales rose 6.2 percent last month, trouncing analysts' estimates of a 5.1 percent increase, as shoppers took advantage of deep discounts on toys, electronics and other gift categories.
Among department store chains, Sears, Roebuck & Co. (S: Research, Estimates) said sales fell 3.6 percent. J.C. Penney (JCP: Research, Estimates) logged a sales decline of 0.8 percent. Penney November results excluded the Thanksgiving holiday week, which it said was stronger than a year ago. Kohl's (KSS: Research, Estimates) sales fell 4.4 percent.
Additionally,Federated Department Stores (FD: Research, Estimates), parent of Macy's and Bloomingdale's, said its same-store sales dipped 0.1 percent.
"There's a clear bifurcation in the department store group," Perkins said. "The upscale retailers Saks (SKS: Research, Estimates), Neiman Marcus and Nordstrom (JWN: Research, Estimates) did very well."
Meanwhile, clothing retailers were a mixed bag. No. 1 apparel retailer Gap Inc. (GPS: Research, Estimates) posted a 6 percent sales gain on the back of its holiday line of colorful and striped apparel, but sales at the teen-inspired chain Abercrombie & Fitch (ANF: Research, Estimates) fell a whopping 13 percent.
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