NEW YORK (CNN/Money) -
U.S. shoppers were feverishly buying new clothes and accessories last month just in time for the holiday gift-giving season.
Specialty apparel names, particularly in the teen arena, had a blowout month, led by names such as, American Eagle Outfitters, Aeropostale and Pacific Sunwear.
American Eagle Outfitters (Research) posted same-store sales -- or sales at stores open at least a year -- up a whopping 31.7 percent and the company also boosted its third-quarter profit guidance. Aeropostale (Research)'s sales jumped 9.1 percent. It too raised its third-quarter profit estimate.
"We are pleased with our results for the month and for the third quarter, which translate into record sales and earnings. The transition into the key holiday selling season has been smooth and we continue to believe that we have the right merchandise and powerful promotions to have a successful holiday," Aeropostale's CEO Julian Geiger said in a statement.
Sales at Abercrombie & Fitch (Research) jumped 11 percent. Pacific Sunwear, the seller of beach-inspired clothing for teens, reported an 8.5 percent rise.
Among other winners, Limited Brands (Research), which operates Victoria's Secret, Bath & Body Works and Express reported a strong 14 percent gain in October.
Industry watchers said sharpness and uniqueness in merchandise contributed to the stellar numbers from the teen specialty group.
"New seasonal fashions brought out many apparel shoppers beating our sales expectations for some specialty apparel retailers," said Richard Hastings, retail analyst with Bernard Sands. "Overall, the industry is getting better at fixing short-term merchandising missteps, and October's cooler weather certainly brought out favorable reaction from many shoppers."
However, a few names missed the party. Mall-based specialty retailer Hot Topic (Research), the purveyor of Goth-type clothing, accessories and music, saw its comparable sales last month fall 3.8 percent, far weaker than analysts' consensus estimate of a 1 percent increase in sales last month, according to First Call.
And home furnishing chain Pier 1 (Research) continued its string of disappointing sales results, posting a 5.9 percent drop in sales. Analysts had forecast its sales to slump by 4.5 percent.
Discounter Wal-Mart (Research)'s sales were in line with its previously announced same-store sales estimate of 2.8 percent. The result was in the bottom-half of its earlier target of a 2 to 4 percent rise in that key measure.
Target Corp. (Research), the second largest discounter after Wal-Mart, fared better. Target's sales rose 6 percent in October making it nine out of ten months this year that it has outperformed Wal-Mart in terms of comparable sales.
The world's largest retailer also said it expects earnings for its just-completed third quarter to come in at the upper-half of its earlier guidance of between 52 to 54 cents a share.
Meanwhile, wholesale club operator Costco (Research) saw some early holiday cheer with sales up 8 percent in October, in line with forecasts.
Industry watchers point out that merchants last month benefited from October's easy comparisons with a year earlier. But from here on the going gets tough as retailers get ready to battle it out for crucial consumer dollars during the critical holiday shopping months of November and December.
The two-month period can account for as much as half of annual sales and profits for some retailers.
Already retailers are turning cautious; consumer sentiment numbers in recent months indicate spending is being weighed down by higher prices at the pump, concern over spikes in home heating bills and slow wage growth.
At the same time, some analysts contend that consumers traditionally have tended to pull it together for the holidays, choosing to deal with budgetary concerns after New Year's Day.
Perkins said final October sales rose 3.8 percent beating estimates for a 3.5 percent rise for the universe of 70 retail names that he tracks. "We could even do a little better than that once all the numbers are in," he said. "While the significant upside surprises last month are a positive in terms of building the momentum going into the holidays, the broader picture is still not good for consumers. Gas prices are hurting low-income consumers and we see the effect at the discount stores."
Nevertheless, Perkins added that it still might be too early to predict how the holidays shake out. "I think we'll have to wait until we get November numbers for a better gauge simply because consumers have been conditioned to wait later and later in the season to make a bulk of their gift purchases," he said.
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