Retailers remain laggards when it comes to offering signs the economy is improving, a troubling situation since consumers account for about two-thirds of overall spending on goods in the U.S.

Same-store-sales in July fell by their second highest amount of the year as consumers clamped their wallets amid continued concerns about their jobs and as federal incentives enticed many to spend on new autos and homes. The reports came the same day that government data showed jobless claims fell last week and a day after word that demand for U.S. factory goods unexpectedly rose in June.

Same-store sales fell 5.1%, when a 5% drop was expected, Thomson Reuters said. The decline was the second biggest drop of 2009 behind the very beginning of the year, when January's comparable store sales declined 5.7%.

Retailers said they felt impacts from tax-free holiday shifts to August from July, which crimped year-over-year spending. They also had less inventory, which meant less clearance selling. Among categories, apparel, home and garden and electronics were cited most as seeing soft demand.

There is also the government's "cash for clunkers" program to be considered.

Richard Feinberg, a professor of retail management with the Purdue Retail Institute at Purdue University, estimates that if the government winds up spending $3 billion on the program, the money consumers spend on car loans would reduce the money available for retail sales by $300 million a month, or $1.5 billion during the five months of back-to-school and holiday sales.

The showing is retailers 11th straight monthly same-store sales decline. It indicates the industry isn't making much progress despite continuing to engage in deep discounting and is raising concerns about where they go from here.

But there were some upside surprises, including Gap Inc. (GPS), Zumiez Inc. (ZUMZ), TJX Inc. (TJX). Limited Brands Inc. (INC) widely beat analysts' expectations, posting a 7% drop in same-store-sales when analysts expected a 12.4% decline, as the retailer's Bath & Body Works stores performed well and marked a significantly higher merchandise margin rate.

Saks Inc. (SKS) and Nordstrom Inc. (JWN) did do bettter-than-expected, a potential sight that the rise in the stock market is rousing upper end consumers who tie their net worth to the equity market's movement. Nordstrom also benefited from in July from its annual anniversary sale.

Overall, though, "It's hard to say we've hit the bottom yet," said Chris Donnelly, partner in Accenture's retail practice. "Retailers are demonstrating that even terrific incentives are failing to attract."

Mass merchandisers like Target Inc. (TGT), Costco Wholesale Corp. (COST), and BJ's Wholesale Club Inc. (BJ) all missed expectations, with the latter two hurt by headwinds from foreign exchange rates and gas prices that are still lower than a year ago.

Teen retailers also had a tough month, with even perennial winner Buckle Inc. (BKE) succumbing and posting a 2.8% sales increase, its lowest gain in over two years and after a virtually unbroken string of double-digit percentage increases.

Even Aeropostale Inc. (ARO), whose low cost teen fashions have been producing double-digit sales increases, notched a 6% same-store-sales gain in July, when 9.8% was expected.

Aeropostale did raise its second quarter earnings guidance, aided by strength from the prior two months.

J.C. Penney (JCP) also lifted its second-quarter earnings expectations despite its same-store-sales falling a more-than-expected 12.3% in July.

J.C. Penney and Aeropostale, as well as Kohl's Corp. (KSS), are among the retailers that are seeing improvement in their gross margin, or net sales minus the cost of selling the goods. The companies are benefiting from tighter inventories that necessitate less discounting and initial signs of getting merchandise from overseas at lower costs.

Hot Topic Inc. (HOTT) and American Eagle Outfitters Inc. (AEO) both saw their gross margins hurt by continued deep discounting, said Brian Sozzi, retail analyst at Wall Street Strategies.

The poor July showing is building a case for extreme caution going into Christmas. Retailers are likely ordering less, which may not mean discounts will have to be as big this holiday season. But any uptick in demand won't be met with supply.

Tax-holiday shifts, fewer clearance options because of leaner inventories and cooler weather were among the causes of drags on the month's sales, retailers said.

Discounters, which have largely been holding up amid the recession, reported largely lower results. Costco reported a 2% drop in the U.S. excluding gasoline and Target maintained its woes with a worse-than-expected 6.5% decline. Chairman and Chief Executive Gregg Steinhafel said Target was beginning to see "modestly improving risk trends" in its credit-card segment, which has struggled amid rising delinquencies and charge-offs.

The worst-performing retailer was Abercrombie and Fitch Inc. (ANF), which posted another month of dour results with a 28% same-store-sales drop when a 26.9% decline was expected. The company hasn't reported growth since April 2008 and is increasingly shedding its no-markdown mantra.

The industry's results were only the third without Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT) in 30 years. The world's largest retailer said in May it would stop giving monthly sales data, following the lead of other smaller peers in recent years. But Macy's Inc. (M) last fall began giving such data again, saying the economic turmoil warranted its investors getting a read on the company's performance more often.

Department stores, for more than a year the laggard among the various retail segments, again broke the mold. Macy's 11% drop came in worse than analysts' expectations, while J.C. Penney Co. (JCP)'s 12% drop also missed the analysts' views, but was better than the company's own forecast. J.C. Penney boosted its fiscal second-quarter outlook, saying it now expects a 1-cent loss. It had forecast a loss of 8 cents to 12 cents a share.

Another department store, Nordstrom Inc. (JWN)'s same-store sales fell 6.9%, not as bad as analysts feared. But Stage Stores Inc. (SSI) missed analysts' expectations with a 12% drop.

On the apparel side, Children's Place Retail Stores Inc. (PLCE) beat expectations with a 4% decline in same-store sales, while Limited Brands Inc. (LTD) posted a 7% decrease, better than analysts had anticipated.

Gap Inc. (GPS) bested estimates with an 8% drop. The company also said it expects fiscal second-quarter earnings of 30 cents to 32 cents, above the current estimate of 28 cents from analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters.

-Kerry Grace Benn and Ann Zimmerman contributed to this article

-By Karen Talley; Dow Jones Newswires; karen.talley@dowjones.com; 212-416-2196