New York ? Cooler weather and tax rebates gave consumers an incentive to spend freely in September, handing many retailers their third straight month of better-than-expected sales.

Cooler weather and tax rebates gave consumers, like this shopper in Omaha, Neb., an incentive to spend generously in September, handing many retailers their third straight month of better-than-expected sales. Strong sales reports released Thursday came from across all retail categories.

Strong sales reports released Thursday came from across all retail categories, and lifted merchants’ hopes for a satisfactory holiday season. But some analysts noted that the sluggish job market, although it has shown some signs of improvement, remained a big obstacle to a sustained increase in consumer spending.

Discounters and moderate-priced stores including Wal-Mart and Target again turned in solid results, but mall-based stores including Limited Brands Inc. and AnnTaylor Stores and department stores such as Federated posted sales that exceeded expectations.

“The broad-based improvement is now at hand,” said Michael P. Niemira, vice president at the Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi Ltd. “Clearly, the consumer is on the comeback. … This is an affirmation that this will be a much better holiday season, perhaps the best since 1999.”

The Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi Ltd.’s same-store sales tally of 77 stores was up 5.9 percent for September, the strongest showing since March 2002, when it posted a 6.4 percent increase.