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Friday August 03 05:30 PM EDT

NEW YORK--Despite having to deal with various logistical hurdles, financial setbacks and relaunches, America's top five mass retailers may finally be seeing some success in branding their names with online consumers.

Between June 2000 and June 2001, Wal-Mart, J.C. Penney, Kmart, Target and Sears each have experienced more than a 20% growth in the number of unique visits to their respective Web sites. Target.com reported a 142% increase in unique visitors and Walmart.com saw 133% growth, followed by Kmart/Bluelight.com (36%), JCPenney.com (34%) and Sears.com (23%), according to a study released on Wednesday by Nielsen/NetRatings, New York.

"The bottom line is that having strong brand recognition and a large established customer base has proven to be a winning formula for

brick-and-mortars," said Sean Kaldor, NetRatings' vp-analytical services.

Walmart.com and JCPenney.com topped the list among these retailers, each with more than 2 million unique visits in June. The others had more than 1.5 million unique visits each. Overall, the top five categories by number of purchases were clothing/apparel, home and garden, toys, health/beauty and video, according to NetRatings.

--Barry Janoff

Friday July 27, 2:28 pm Eastern Time, By Ellis Mnyandu

NEW YORK, July 27 (Reuters) - The thousands of job cuts being aired by corporate America each day are adding to worries that consumer spending -- seen as the last pillar of economic strength -- may soon crumble, a further threat to hard-hit U.S. retailers.

On Friday, the U.S. government said consumer spending, while still growing, rose more slowly in April through June than it did in the first quarter. And, also on Friday, the University of Michigan said in a report that consumer confidence, which fell sharply early this year, dipped again this month, ending a run of just two months of gains.

The retail industry, hit by stunted sales and profits since the fall of 2000, would be among the first areas of the economy to suffer if consumer spending -- which accounts for about two-thirds of gross domestic product -- starts to decline. ``The layoffs are clouding the outlook going forward. There's now less certainty that we could see a recovery in the back half of the year,'' said Alan Rifkin, a retail industry analyst at Lehman Brothers. ``It's a tough environment out there and if you are worried about getting laid off, there's is no reason why you are going to get out and spend too much money,'' he added.

NO TAX SPENDING SPREE

Retailers had hoped the second half of 2001 would herald a recovery, but analysts now look to the first quarter of 2002 for some rebound.

They had expected that lower interest rates and $38 billion in tax refund checks this year from President George W. Bush's $1.35 trillion 10-year tax cut deal would help fuel spending and keep the U.S. economic engine roaring ahead.

But analysts said U.S. shoppers are now more likely to use their tax cut checks, which the government started mailing this month, to trim credit card, home and auto debts, in case they lose their jobs.

Announced layoffs at U.S. companies, tracked by outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc. surged 56 percent in June from May. In the first half of the year, firms announced plans to cut 777,362 jobs, three times more than the number planned in the same period last year. ``The timing of the tax reform is bad,'' said Richard Hastings, an analyst at credit rating agency, Global Credit Services, Inc.

``We are at the peak of consumer illiquidity and indebtedness. The layoffs also add to the gloom,'' Hastings added. As in the economic downturn, only discounters like Wal-Mart Stores and Costco Wholesale Corp. stand to gain from the tax cut, analysts said.

UBS Warburg said on Friday that Wal-Mart, which offered to cash customers' tax rebate checks for free, is seeing sales of items like

televisions and video games rise as a result. But, in a sign that all is not well in the rest of the retail sector, shoppers have cut budgets for the important back-to-school season, which starts next month, by 4 percent this year, American Express said.

STAGGERING CONSUMER DEBTS

Analysts said the consumer debt burden and fear among shoppers of losing income explain why retailers may yet see more bad profits.

According to the InCharge Institute of America Inc., a national nonprofit credit counseling agency, total U.S. consumer debt stands above a staggering $1.4 trillion. More than 60 million Americans have credit card debts at more than $10,000, InCharge said. ``Business is down everywhere and I personally have opted to just use cash and not shop on Fifth Avenue. I look for bargains when I buy clothes,'' a shop assistant at a mens boutique in Manhattan said.

A number of retailers have already warned that second-quarter earnings, due to be reported from next month, will fall below expectations as they battle a spring and summer inventory glut and consumer unease. Among key retailers that have slashed their profit outlooks is Federated Department Stores Inc., parent of Macy's and Bloomingdale's. Luxury jeweler Tiffany has also warned of flat third-quarter sales and weak second-quarter profits. The retailers facing the most impact of a wary consumer, are apparel and electronic goods retailers, or those that sell anything consumers believe they can do without.

U.S. retail sales at discount, chain and department stores rose modestly during the first two retail weeks of July as stores stepped up discounts of seasonal goods to clear shelves for fall merchandise, according to Instinet Redbook Research. But analysts said the real profitability of those sales is doubtful. Instinet Research said its Redbook Retail Sales Average rose 1.3 percent in the two weeks ended July 21 over the same period in June, compared with a target for a 1.5 percent increase. ``What I read in the papers about the economy has made me buy only what I need, mostly food,'' said Herall Satranine, 55, a New York contractor with an income of $450 a week. ``The economy is bad enough, so why should I go on spending like I am mad?.''