The American retail industry continues to see signs of a sharp pullback in consumer spending, both online and in stores.

Growth in online sales slowed to a near halt in October, comScore, a research firm, is expected to report Tuesday. Separately, the home improvement store Lowe's and the retailer Target reported Monday that third-quarter profit fell as consumers cut back on large home-improvement projects and discretionary purchases.

Online spending grew by only 1 percent over October 2007, comScore said. That was the lowest monthly growth rate since comScore began tracking e-commerce in 2001, and was down from 5 percent in September.

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