It was a gloomy April for nation's retailers / Gap sales off 16% for month compared with last year, when Easter was later

Shopper Debbie Mirabello, of Woburn, Mass., examines clothing on a rack while shopping at a Macy's department store, in Newton, Mass., Wednesday, May 9, 2007. Stocks retreated Thursday, May 10, 2007, after many of the nation's major retailers reported weak April sales, raising concerns about consumer spending in the coming months. (AP Photo/Steven Senne) less Shopper Debbie Mirabello, of Woburn, Mass., examines clothing on a rack while shopping at a Macy's department store, in Newton, Mass., Wednesday, May 9, 2007. Stocks retreated Thursday, May 10, 2007, after many ... more Photo: Steven Senne Photo: Steven Senne Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close It was a gloomy April for nation's retailers / Gap sales off 16% for month compared with last year, when Easter was later 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

Retailers reaped the rewards in March of an early Easter but paid the price for it in April.

Sales at stores open at least a year, known as same-store sales, fell by a record 2.4 percent in April, the worst since the International Council of Shopping Centers started tallying the monthly numbers in 1970.

Shoppers had flocked to stores in March in preparation for Easter on April 8, which bumped up same-store sales by 5.9 percent

Many chains had warned that April would be bad because Easter came later in the month last year, but even they were surprised by the results.

MBA BY THE BAY: See how an MBA could change your life with SFGATE's interactive directory of Bay Area programs.

Gap, which enjoyed a same-store sales gain of 6 percent in March, suffered a 16 percent drop in same-store sales in April.

Sabrina Simmons, senior vice president of corporate finance for the San Francisco retailer, said merchandise margins were significantly below last year because of markdowns at Gap stores. The division posted a same-store sales decrease of 14 percent compared with a 2 percent decline the previous year.

Same-store sales at Old Navy fell by 20 percent compared with a 6 percent decline a year ago. And same-store sales at Banana Republic, the company's only brand that has been performing well, fell by 13 percent compared with a 1 percent increase last year.

Christine Chen, an analyst for Needham and Co., said the importance of Easter -- and all the spending that comes with it -- cannot be understated. The National Retail Federation estimates that the holiday generates about $12.6 billion in sales, behind Christmas, Mother's Day and Valentine's Day.

"When that week moves around in the month, it causes huge issues with traffic," Chen said.

Strong performers like American Eagle and Abercrombie & Fitch, which some analysts believed would come out on top, were not immune to the Easter shift. April same-store sales at American Eagle dropped by 10 percent and at Abercrombie & Fitch by 15 percent.

Sectors like luxury stores, wholesale clubs and department stores posted positive numbers in April, although Federated's same-store sales slipped by 2.2 percent and J.C. Penney's by 4.7 percent.

Wal-Mart's same-store sales tumbled by 4.6 percent while Target's dropped by 6.1 percent.

Michael Niemira, chief economist for the International Council of Shopping Centers, said that even when taking the Easter shift into consideration, this year has been particularly bad compared with last year.

The average for same-stores sales in March and April combined works out to a 1.8 percent increase versus a 4.3 percent increase last year for the same period.

"That's a significant difference," Niemira said. "It just reflects the real weakness in the numbers."

This year's combined average for the two months is the lowest it has been since 2003. Niemira said that while weather plays a factor -- with March being unseasonably warm and April unseasonably cold this year -- the bigger culprit is the economy.

"I think it's the housing ripple effect impacting the retail sector," he said, pointing to falling home prices as the reason for weaknesses in furniture and consumer electronics sales. "There's less demand."

Gas prices might also have a hand in the retail sector's slowing sales, but Niemira expects them to be more of a factor in May and June, when they are expected to climb even higher.

Sales slide Change in same-store sales in April compared with a year ago Retailer Change Saks 11.7% Costco 7.0 Nordstrom 3.1 Nieman Marcus 1.0 Federated(1) -2.2 Wal-Mart -4.6 J.C. Penney -4.7 Target -6.1 Ross Stores -7.0 Gap(2) -16.0 . 1 - Includes Bloomingdales and Macys 2 - Includes Gap, Banana Republic and Old Navy Source: Bloomberg