NEW YORK — Black Friday was no match for Sandy.

Major retailers such as Kohl’s, Target and Macy’s on Thursday reported weak sales in November as a strong start to the holiday shopping season on the day after Thanksgiving wasn’t enough to fully offset a slow start to the month caused by Superstorm Sandy.

The storm stunted enthusiasm among shoppers just as stores were preparing for the busiest shopping period of the year, a roughly two-month stretch in November through December when they can make up to 40 percent of annual revenue.

Eighteen retailers reported that November sales at stores open at least a year — an indicator of a retailer’s health — through last Saturday were up 1.7 percent compared with the year-ago period.

That’s well below the group’s anticipated forecast for a 4.5 percent to 5.5 percent gain.