Retailers like Kohl's Corp. (KSS), Target Corp. (TGT) and BJ's Wholesale Club Inc. (BJ) bore the brunt of the weekend's major snowfall, with the storm prompting one weather tracking service used by retailers to shave its holiday sales estimate.

The hit was tamer than storms that clobbered most of the country a year ago, and retailers face a few days of clear weather to try to recoup the sales they lost over the weekend.

"I'm still kind of bullish on December," said Bill Kirk, chief executive of Weather Trends International. But the storm did not leave retailers unscathed.

Kirk, who was speaking on a call hosted by Citigroup, now sees holiday sales showing a 1% to 2% gain, a bit lower than 2% to 3% growth projected before the weekend.

Snowstorms pack quite a punch when it comes to affecting spending, serving as an even bigger deterrent than lousy consumer sentiment, Kirk said. "We have to factor in here some lost opportunity."

The impact was tempered by big rushes of shoppers the Friday night and Saturday before the storm hit a good part of the Northeast, dumping as much as two feet of snow in some areas.

Retailers including Target Corp. (TGT) and Borders Inc. (BKS) are extending their hours in the affected areas.

BJ's Wholesale had the biggest vulnerability to the storm, with more than half its stores in the affected areas, Weather Trends said.

Kohl's has 21% of its locations in areas the storm hit, Sears Holdings Corp.'s (SHLD) Kmart has 19%, and Target has 16%, the firm said. Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT) has 13% of its massive store base in storm-hit areas, Weather Trends said. Retailers with a strong Web presence likely benefited as shoppers stayed home, although parts of the mid-Atlantic did lose power, making online shopping difficult.

The weekend weather was one of nine heavy winter storms the U.S. is expected to experience during the holiday season, Kirk said. The 537 inches of snow this season compare with 1,210 during 20 heavy snow days over the same period in 2008, when the weekend before Christmas saw a massive storm that affected much of the country.

Last year, the weekend before Christmas "was brutal," with heavy snowfall in the Northwest, Midwest, Mid-Atlantic and Northeast compounded by subzero temperatures across the Midwest, said Sharon Zackfia, retail analyst with William Blair & Co.

The weather worsened throughout the week leading up to Christmas, essentially negating any catch-up in sales during the days before Christmas, Zackfia said.

While the next couple of days are expected to be relatively clear, more stormy weather is expected around Christmas and very cold weather is seen for the days after, the period when returns are made and many gift cards redeemed.

While there may be some calm after that, Kirk said the worst in terms of weather may not be over. "We're positioning for a parade of storms up the East Coast that is very worrisome" for first-quarter results, he said.

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