This Week in Retail: Walmart Q1 earnings and April retail sales

If you were wondering whether tariffs are impacting the US economy, this week might be a good time to pay attention. In addition to new inflation and retail sales numbers for April, the biggest retailer in the US is set to report its quarterly earnings.

Here’s a rundown of what’s going on in retail this week:

In earnings: The retailer in question—Walmart, of course—is scheduled to release its Q1 earnings on Thursday. Wall Street is reportedly anticipating mixed results, as tariffs cut into the low-price retailer’s bottom line despite ongoing efforts to reduce its reliance on Chinese imports. Indeed, Walmart warned investors back in February that profit growth could slow this year due to tariffs. Relatedly, the company unveiled its Grow with US initiative last week. The program is designed to provide mentorship and resources to US-based small businesses so they can achieve the scale needed to supply Walmart.

In data releases: Monthly retail sales numbers for April are also coming out on Thursday, for yet another window into this tariff-wracked economy. However, tariffs could be a boon to the measure for now, as consumers stock up to avoid higher prices down the line. The CNBC/Retail Monitor measure of retail sales increased 6.76% year over year in April, compared to 4.75% in March. “Despite declines in confidence caused by the economic uncertainty that has come with tariffs, consumer fundamentals remain intact, supported by low unemployment, slower-but-steady income growth and solid household finances,” NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay said in a statement. “Consumers maintain their ability to spend and have strong reasons to spend now before tariffs can drive up prices or cause shortages on store shelves.”

In addition, we’ll get a look at how tariffs are impacting inflation, if at all, with the latest consumer price index dropping on Tuesday. In March, the measure showed inflation slowing with a 2.4% year over year increase, down from 2.8% in February.

In conferences: Meanwhile, leading retailers and experts will gather in London for the World Retail Congress. The conference will run from Monday to Wednesday and feature executives such as Pacsun CEO Brieane Olson and Shein Senior Director of Brand Operations Christina Fontana, as well as a number of notable industry experts such as Deborah Weinswig of Coresight Research and Catherine Brien of AlixPartners.