(Reuters) - Macy's posted a bigger-than-expected drop in first-quarter sales on Tuesday, hobbled by stiff competition from off-price retailers for shoppers increasingly cautious about spending on products such as apparel and footwear.

The upscale department store operator's net sales fell 2.7% to $4.85 billion. Analysts on average had expected sales to drop 2.42% to $4.86 billion, according to LSEG data.

(Reporting by Anuja Bharat Mistry and Ananya Mariam Rajesh in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila)