1.   Analysts said hot weather kept shoppers away from the malls last month, hurting back-to-school sales.

2.   But he asserted that the change would keep many shoppers from running off to New Jersey, and ultimately would increase retail sales.

3.   But the sluggish gains came amid strong increases in the use of credit cards, suggesting that higher debts may keep shoppers out of stores in the coming months.

4.   Higher interest rates would slow economic growth and could keep shoppers away from supermarkets and department stores.

5.   In addition, industry consultants suspect that some Internet retailers are shortchanging key operations, like improved Web design that will keep shoppers coming back.

6.   It also kept shoppers at home, which hurt sales of clothing, furniture and electronics.

7.   It will almost surely be a disaster if weekend blizzards materialize and keep shoppers home.

8.   Locally, retailers blamed poor March results on extraordinary rainfall, which snarled roadways and kept shoppers indoors.

9.   May was the second straight month in which weather kept shoppers away from stores.

10.   Montgomery analyst Alice Ruth said the move was driven by sluggish sales, blamed in part on the snow storms that are keeping shoppers home.