Target's June sales miss expectations

Minneapolis-based Target says its sales were "relatively soft" in June.

Revenue at stores open at least one year rose 1.7 percent, but Wall Street analysts on average expected a 2.7 percent rise. Target's total sales for the five weeks ending July 4 were about $5.9 billion.

Dave Heupel, a retail analyst at Thrivent Financial for Lutherans, said June was a so-so month for Target, but he believes the company is headed in the right direction.

"We saw some nice trends in areas like apparel," he said. "On the flip side, electronics were really weak. Home was down as well. Domestics were also soft.

"I wouldn't really fret one way or the other about what I saw here. I think the trends are still fairly favorable."

Target reported that fewer customers are behind on their credit card payments. The percentage of customers three or more payments past due fell for the fifth consecutive month, to under five percent.

Heupel said that's a sign consumers are doing somewhat better, which is good for Target.