Talk about the weather -- just like retailers

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Everybody talks about the weather, particularly retailers who make a point of blaming poor September sales on Mother Nature.

Unseasonably warm temperatures across many major U.S. markets have left retailers attributing a portion of their poor sales to the weather as customers stayed away from purchasing fall merchandise such as sweaters and coats.

Analysts were not completely buying the whole weather thing, but most were willing to give retailers the benefit of the doubt.

"I'm usually suspicious when companies blame weather, but September was pretty amazingly warm and so I think that that really hurt apparel," said Morningstar analyst Joseph Beaulieu.

Much of the eastern two-thirds of the United States was two to six degrees warmer than normal in September, according to weather tracking firm Planalytics.

One retailer that surprisingly blamed the warm weather for some of its poor sales was Petsmart, which sells pet food and accessories.

"Warmer-than-usual weather has dampened sales in key cold-weather categories," Petsmart's Chief Executive Philip Francis said, but the company did not define what pet items it includes in its cold-weather category.

Credit Suisse analyst Gary Balter questioned that, saying, "Petsmart is not what comes to mind when one thinks about weather impacts."

Here are some other quotes from retailers blaming the warm weather: