This Week in Retail: February sales data and April Fools’ Day

At risk of ruining a pleasant (or perhaps not so pleasant) surprise, April Fools’ Day is this Wednesday, and you can expect a number of brands to test out their comedic chops with some kind of marketing prank. Sometimes these attempts generate laughs; other times, controversy. We’ll see how brands fare this year. In the meantime, check out Retail Brew’s four-decade compendium of retail brands’ April Fools’ pranks for a sampling of famous examples.

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

In data releases: April Fools’ also just happens to be the day the US Commerce Department is releasing its monthly retail sales numbers for February. The previous report showed sales in January declining 0.2% from December, and rising 2.9% from the year before, with much of the month-over-month drop coming from motor vehicle and auto parts dealerships.

Sales events: More spring sales are running this week, furthering the case that this is increasingly a season for deals. Amazon’s Big Spring Sale started last Wednesday and will run through Tuesday, with discounts up to 40% across 35 categories. The event comes even as Amazon plans to move up its annual Prime Day event to June from July. The company hasn’t explained why it made the move, but it’s likely to affect the wider e-commerce landscape, which in recent years has followed Amazon’s lead when it comes to summer sales. It will also impact Amazon’s financial reporting, moving any gains from the event to Q2 rather than Q3.

In conferences: The National Hardware Show is in Las Vegas this week. The event connects retailers, wholesalers, distributors, product development teams, inventors, and global factories. The organizers encourage companies to bring their full buying, sourcing, and product teams to

“discover new products, assess global factories, explore private label, and get sourcing strategy support.”