Macy’s, Kohl’s, Gap point to cloudy holiday retail picture

By ANNE D’INNOCENZIO
AP Retail Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — Results from Macy’s, Kohl’s and Gap have further underscored the cloudy picture for U.S. retailers heading into the start of the holiday season. A day after Target reported a sharp drop in quarterly profits, it’s clear that inflation-hit shoppers in the last few weeks were waiting for deals and not willing to pay full price for purchases they could put off. The big question will be if U.S. consumers will spend more freely in the coming weeks. Macy’s on Thursday reported that its profit and sales slid in the third quarter. Kohl’s withdrew its annual earnings outlook. Gap swung to a profit from a loss a year ago, and sales rose 2%. But it also delivered a tempered holiday outlook.