Associated Press

Americans are increasingly shifting their spending to necessities and away from nonessentials like apparel. That has resulted in solid sales gains in July for low-priced operators like Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and sluggish sales for mall-based apparel chains.

As the nation's retailers report monthly sales reports Thursday, it's clear that with the benefits of rebate checks fading, consumers are pulling back even more on spending.

Wal-Mart reported July sales that met the company's plan but were slightly below Wall Street estimates and said that consumers are increasingly running out of money. Costco Wholesale Corp.'s same-store sales beat estimates. Same-store sales are those at stores open at least a year.