This Week in Retail: Walmart and Target earnings, e-commerce sales

It’s the last full week before Thanksgiving, and with several major earnings reports and data releases coming out, it should be a good week for taking stock of how the retail industry is faring before its busiest and most financially important time of the year.

Here’s what’s going on in retail this week:

In earnings: It’s a big week for retail earnings, with mass retail, discount, home improvement, and warehouse stores all reporting. Kicking off the earnings spree is The Home Depot on Tuesday. Next up are TJX Companies, Target, and Lowe’s on Wednesday, and Walmart and Ross Stores on Thursday. BJ’s Wholesale will finish out the week on Friday.

These reports will cover the back-to-school shopping season through the month of September, and should provide a window into how retailers and consumers are behaving in the lead-up to the crucial holiday season.

In date releases: The Census Bureau is releasing its third-quarter Retail E-Commerce Sales report on Tuesday. The previous version of the report dropped in August and showed e-commerce sales increasing 1.4% from the first quarter to $304.2 billion, not accounting for price changes. The measure increased 5.3% YoY, outpacing the 3.9% increase in total retail sales over the same period.

Also on Tuesday, the Census Bureau reported its latest US Import and Export Price Indexes. The last available data showed import prices increased 0.3% in August, while exports increased 0.3% that month. Export prices had risen 3.4% over the preceding 12 months.

In webinars: PYMNTS CEO Karen Webster is hosting a series of webinars this weekend called The SKU. Each episode tackles how a different brand is using technology to connect with consumers. Companies on the docket include CVS, Furniture.com, TOMS, Whatnot, and Tapestry.