Retail goliath Wal-Mart Stores Inc on Monday revealed its sales growth for this month could be the best for more than a year after demand for its back-to-school lines proved greater than expected.

The Arkansas-based firm, world''s largest retailer, said it now expects August same-store sales at its US stores to increase in the range of four to six per cent compared to its earlier forecast of a three to five per cent.

Rival Target Corp also announced its same-store sales tracked "well above" its expectations last week, with the Minneapolis-based retailer now seeing monthly same-store sales growth at its self-titled chain of between four and five per cent. It added group same-store sales are expected to rise between one and 1.5 per cent due to a soft performance by its Mervyn''s and Marshall Field''s department store networks.