Worries begin as retailers report weak September sales

American shoppers went into hiding in September, sticking to buying the bare-bone essentials and leading many retailers to report dismal sales for the month as skittish consumers grappled with the financial meltdown spreading around the globe.

The weak reports on Wednesday – an alarming gauge of consumer behavior since the meltdown began midway through last month – are fueling more worries about the holiday season and the overall economy, since consumer spending accounts for two-thirds of all economic activity.

Given the sharp falloff in sales and customer traffic, many retailers, including J.C. Penney Co., Kohl’s Corp., Saks Inc. and Nordstrom Inc. cut their outlooks as they use aggressive discounts to pull in shell-shocked shoppers.

“Discretionary spending has come to a trickle,” said Ken Perkins, president of research company RetailMetrics LLC. “Consumers are the most worried I have seen since at least the 1991 recession. There are so many factors laying on their psyche.”

He added that even discounters are going to have a “tough go” this holiday season. Indeed, September results showed discounters weren’t immune to shoppers’ mounting worries about their financial security.