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Retailers have posted a 1.2% rise in same-store-sales for April, beating expectations for a small decline as many, including Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT) exceeded expectations. But the gains in many cases remain incremental and analysts say a full recovery is still a ways off.

The April sales figures "are encouraging, but I wouldn't call them a victory," said Chris Donnelly, partner in the retail practice of consulting firm Accenture.

Donnelly based his assessment on less-sluggish trends, as April comparable store sales were expected to drop by 0.2% by Thomson Reuters.

Reports indicate that many stores that have been losing business are still seeing declines, but at a lower rate. A number of retailers that have been posting growth are seeing bigger increases.

"We're looking at signs of a potential stabilization," Donnelly said.

But not everywhere, as the upper end is still struggling. Saks Inc. (SKS) posted a 32% drop in stores open at least a year. Analysts had projected a 30.5% decline. Neiman Marcus reported a 24.6% decline in April same-store-sales for its namesake unit and Bergdorf Goodman, seeing weakness everywhere it operates and in all merchandise categories.

Wal-Mart posted a rise of 5%, well ahead of projections for a 2.9% gain, with apparel the only category of its six segments to see a falloff in sales year-over-year.

Aeropostale (ARO), which has been on a roll, turned in its best performance yet, a 20% rise when analysts expected an 8.5% gain. The showing outpaced perennial winner Buckle (BKE), whose advance came in at 18.2%, although was well ahead of projections for 10.6%.

Abercrombie & Fitch (ANF) even showed a bit of upside, with a comp drop of 22% that was better than expectations for a 27.3% decline.

Many retailers benefitted from the shift of Easter to April this year from March in 2009, but analysts said all of the improvement cannot be chalked up to the calendar change.

"Things look a little better than in prior months," Erin Armendinger, managing director of the Baker Retailing Initiative at the Wharton School. "There may be signs of light in the future but we are not there yet."

Consumers "are still going to places they are sure are offering low prices," Armendinger said. "What we are not seeing yet is a dramatic change in sentiment. The numbers are better, but still generally not good."

Consumers are still contending with high unemployment, the housing crisis and less use of credit cards, all of which will continue to keep spending relatively muted for some time, analysts said.

By Karen Talley, Dow Jones Newswires, 201-938-5106; karen.talley@dowjones.com