Wal-Mart Stores Inc.'s (WMT) same-store sales fell short of expectations for March, but do reflect the strength of consumers' more basic approach to life.

The retailer's home furnishings department - along with "do-it-yourself" items - had mid-single-digit comparable-store-sales gains that exceeded the company's overall showing. The figures reflect the eat-at-home trend and the retailer's own stepped-up merchandising efforts in those areas.

Cookware, dinnerware and food-service items were among the best performers in the housewares group.

Overall same-store-sales rose 1.4% last month, excluding fuel, when a 3.2% increase was projected. Wal-Mart attributed the softness to Easter's shift to April this year from March in 2008.

Mitigating the short-term negative, Wal-Mart raised its guidance for the first quarter, which closes at the end of April, to the high end of its previously announced range of 72 cents to 77 cents a share.

The world's biggest retailer also said comparable-store sales for the first three months of the fiscal year will come in toward the top of its earlier forecast of 1% to 3% growth.

Wal-Mart is at a run rate that has its comparable-store sales beating the high end. The 1.4% advance in March, averaged with February's 5.1% gain, shows 3.1% growth for the first two months of the first quarter. And April is expected to benefit from the Easter calendar shift to this month.

March was the month that Wal-Mart's new policy of not issuing monthly guidance went into effect. Analysts acted largely on what the retailer has been doing in general and their assessments of impacts from ongoing sluggish economic conditions.

There is no way of knowing what Wal-Mart itself expected. "We don't know if March was below plan or even above," said Bernard Sosnick, retail analyst at Gilford Securities.

Wal-Mart did struggle, as did other global retailers, with the impact of the stronger dollar.

When transacted in weaker currencies and translated back to U.S. dollars, Wal-Mart saw international same-store sales fall 14.8% on a year-over-year basis, while U.S. operations rose 2.6% and Sam's Club posted a 2.2% growth.

Costco Wholesale Corp. (COST) also suffered because of currency exchange rates and, some analysts say, from Wal-Mart's Sam's Club becoming a stronger competitor.

Costco's comparable sales at stores overseas dropped 13% in March, while U.S. same-store sales declined 2%.

Core comps, which exclude gas sales, currency fluctuations and the shift in Easter to April this year, came in at 2.3%, the company's worst in years, said JPMorgan analyst Charles Grom in a research note.

Customer transactions at Costco fell 10%, their largest decline in at least six years, and a 200 basis point drop from February, Grom said.

Costco appears to be losing ground to Sam's Club, said Brian Sozzi, retail analyst at Wall Street Strategies.

"I've started to see it in the past two or three months," Sozzi said. "Sam's Club is doing a better job at getting the word out about value, especially in consumables. Both companies are still having problems in some of their more discretionary categories."

Investors are sending shares of both companies lower. Wal-Mart is off $2.27, or 4.3%, to $50.34. Costco is down $1.20, or 2.5%, to $46.50.

Analysts say the long-term picture for Wal-Mart is still very solid. "Wal-Mart is still out there doing all the right things," said Erin Armendinger, managing director of the Wharton School's retail program. "They are shouting value and consumers are responding."

Overall, Wal-Mart said comparable-store traffic increased for a sixth consecutive month in March, but average purchases fell. Grocery, while showing growth, did see the effect of lower inflation.

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