Nov. 5 (Bloomberg) -- Aeropostale Inc., American Eagle Outfitters Inc. and Limited Brands Inc. reported October sales that missed analysts’ estimates before the start of the holiday shopping season.

Sales at U.S. stores open at least a year rose 3 percent at Aeropostale, the U.S. teen retailer with more than 900 stores, trailing the 14 percent average of analysts’ estimates compiled by Retail Metrics Inc. Comparable-store sales at American Eagle fell 5 percent, missing a 2 percent projected gain. Sales at Limited, the owner of the Victoria’s Secret chain, dropped 4 percent, more than the 3.1 percent estimated decline.

October is a transitional month between the two largest selling seasons of the year: back-to-school and Christmas. U.S. retailers use the month to clear out fall merchandise and make room for holiday floor sets, according to Ken Perkins, president of Swampscott, Massachusetts-based Retail Metrics.

“The teen apparel space was the biggest disappointment,” Perkins said today in a telephone interview.

Black Friday, the day after U.S. Thanksgiving and the traditional start of the U.S. holiday shopping season, falls on Nov. 27 this year. Sales in November and December may rise modestly, by 2 percent to 4 percent, Perkins said today.

“It’ll be interesting to see to what extent consumers just sort of hold off until Black Friday and really don’t do much shopping,” or if they choose to shop earlier because they know stores have less inventory and want to take advantage of sales, Perkins said.

Shares Fall

Aeropostale, based in New York, fell $4.56, or 12 percent, to $33.47 at 4:15 p.m. in New York Stock Exchange composite trading, the largest one-day drop since December 2008. Pittsburgh-based American Eagle dropped $2.07, or 12 percent, to $15.79, the biggest decline since June 2008. Limited, of Columbus, Ohio, gained 11 cents to $17.89.

Some department stores fared better than the specialty retailers. TJX Cos. and Ross Stores Inc., which both sell designer goods at discounted prices, reported sales gains. Chains including Saks Inc. and Nordstrom Inc. reported sales that topped estimates.

Some investors consider comparable-store sales the best measure of retail health because they exclude the effect of location openings and closings in the intervening months.

Total U.S. comparable-store sales rose 2.1 percent last month, the International Council of Shopping Centers said today. That’s the largest increase since a 2.5 percent gain in July 2008, the New York-based trade group said today in an e-mailed statement. The ICSC, which based its results on a survey of 32 retailers, said November sales will climb 5 percent to 8 percent from a year earlier.

Lehman Collapse

Retail Metrics said same-store sales dropped 3.5 percent in October 2008, as consumers put a halt on spending a month after the collapse of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. on Sept. 15.

Perkins said this month’s sales reflect a rising trend since July’s bottom, when sales dropped 4.7 percent.

U.S. holiday sales in the last two months of the year may fall 1 percent to $437.6 billion from a year earlier, the National Retail Federation forecast on Oct. 6. That’s not as steep as last year’s decline of 3.4 percent, the first drop since the Washington-based NRF began tracking holiday sales in 1995.

“It’s still very uncertain how consumers are going to act between now and Christmas,” Kohl’s Corp. Chief Executive Officer Kevin Mansell said in an Oct. 28 interview. The Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin-based department-store chain reported a 1.4 percent October sales gain, which trailed the 4.9 percent average estimate.

U.S. consumer spending in September dropped for the first time in five months, according to Commerce Department data. Spending fell 0.5 percent after a 1.4 percent jump in August. Consumer confidence in October also declined. The jobless rate reached a 26-year high of 9.8 percent in September.

“We do not believe, with unemployment continuing to increase, that the consumer will be in a highly festive mood to splurge,” Eric Beder, an analyst at Brean Murray Carret & Co. in New York, said in a note.

To contact the reporter on this story: Allison Abell Schwartz in New York at aabell@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: November 5, 2009 16:32 EST