Nov 21 Reuters Kohl39;s lowered the top end of its annual sales forecast and said it would be aggressive with promotions in the crucial holiday season as costconscious shoppers spend less at its department stores, sending its shares tumbling 11 on Tuesday.

American consumers have continued to defer nonessential purchases and focused on buying essentials as rising credit card debt and higher interest rates squeeze wallets, while warmer weather in recent months also hit demand for fallseason goods.

The trimmed outlook echoed retail bellwether Walmart that last week took a cautious stance for holiday spending, which is expected to grow at the slowest pace in five years.

Chief Executive Tom Kingsbury said Kohl39;s was going to be very aggressive with promotions during the holiday season amid the uncertain economic environment, as it looks to gain more market share.

It39;s pretty clear across the discretionary retail space that the environment is choppy and will likely continue to be so through the holiday in 2024, said Fitch analyst David Silverman.

Kohl39;s now expects annual sales to fall between 2.8 and 4, against its previous projection for a 2 to 4 drop, and analysts39; estimate for a 2.5 fall in LSEG data.

Its comparable sales fell for a seventh straight quarter, declining 5.5 compared to a fall of 3 expected by analysts.

There was obvious weakness in our cold weather businesses during the third quarter, said Kingsbury.

However, Kohl39;s inventories fell 13,…