Retail executives had planned to head out to the West Coast this week for the NRF Nexus leadership conference, but then the trade group decided to cancel this year’s event “given the current economic uncertainty,” so that members could stay with their teams and focus on their businesses and customers.
Adding to the feeling of anti-climax, Prime Day–which last year began on July 16—got an early start and is already finished up for the season, along with most of the competing sales events from Amazon’s brick-and-mortar rivals.
Here’s what else is going on in retail this week:
In data releases: Two big data releases are coming out this week, starting with the latest Consumer Price Index on Tuesday and monthly retail sales on Thursday. Together the measures should provide a window on how the economy was faring at the start of summer, but won’t account for big sales events such as Prime Day or the ramping up of back-to-school spending.
For the CPI, economists expect more subdued inflation in June, even as wide-ranging tariffs took effect. This follows a slight 0.1% month over month increase and a modest 2.4% year over year increase in May.
Retail sales, meanwhile, declined 0.9% month over month in May. That report showed declines in the sales of building materials, electronics and appliances, food and beverages, and health and personal care products, but increases in clothing and items from nonstore retailers.
In buying trends: Meanwhile, the social media trend dubbed “No Buy July” continues. The idea is to push back against overspending by not making new purchases for an entire month. Check out Reddit’s /nobuy channel for updates on how people are faring, though we’ll have to wait until the middle of next month to see if the campaign puts a dent in retail sales.
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