Daily Retail Update
Tuesday May 19, 2026
Hey Friends,
Home Depot delivered a steady start to earnings season while Wall Street waits anxiously for Walmart’s next read on the consumer, Amazon and Walmart continue escalating the delivery speed war, and physical retail remains split between aggressive expansion from value chains and another wave of closures from struggling legacy brands. Meanwhile, culturally, the industry is being dominated by Shein’s controversial acquisition of Everlane, an increasingly public battle between Lululemon and founder Chip Wilson, and chaotic product launches overseas that are exposing just how intense global consumer demand and hype culture have become.
Let’s get into it…..
Latest Retail Tech News
Domestic
Home Depot kicked off retail earnings season this morning with a beat on both the top and bottom lines. The home improvement giant reported Q1 sales of $41.77 billion, up 4.8% year over year, with adjusted EPS of $3.43 besting Wall Street’s $3.41 estimate. Same-store sales rose 0.6% overall, with U.S. comparable sales up 0.4%. Customer transactions were down 1.3%, but average ticket climbed to $92.76, up from $90.71 a year ago. CEO Ted Decker noted that underlying demand looked “relatively similar to what we saw throughout fiscal 2025, despite greater consumer uncertainty and housing affordability pressure.” The company reaffirmed its full-year 2026 guidance, projecting total sales growth of 2.5% to 4.5%. Not a barn burner, but steady and reassuring for a market that needed it. Target and Walmart both report later this week, so HD is very much setting the tone.
Speaking of Walmart, Wall Street is buzzing in anticipation of its Q1 results dropping Thursday, May 21. Analysts expect revenue of around $174.57 billion (up roughly 5.4% year over year) and EPS of $0.66. Shares closed Monday at $133.34, with Evercore ISI raising its price target to $140 from $135 ahead of the print. WMT has been a standout story this year, up nearly 20% year to date as the trade-down consumer continues to show up in its grocery aisles and on Walmart+.
Amazon continues to accelerate its delivery arms race, expanding its 30-minute grocery and essential delivery to dozens more U.S. cities. The company is leveraging smaller, strategically placed fulfillment nodes to hit that compressed delivery window. Walmart is right on its heels, converting empty retail locations into local delivery hubs in what is shaping up as one of the defining logistics rivalries in retail.
Global
Retail Technology Innovation Hub launched its first-ever RTIH Retail Technology Hot 100 list this week, spotlighting the 100 hottest global retail tech companies of 2026. The initiative, developed in partnership with 3D Cloud, draws on a judging panel that includes executives from Holland & Barrett, JD Sports, and Boots. Public voting is now open. It is a worthwhile snapshot of where the industry’s innovation energy is actually flowing right now.
Store Openings and Closings
Domestic
The liquidation clock is ticking loudly for several U.S. retail banners this month. Francesca’s, the women’s apparel boutique that filed for bankruptcy earlier this year, is completing its full-fleet shutdown across its roughly 400 locations, with many closures landing in May as liquidation sales conclude. About 57 Saks OFF 5TH locations are also shuttering as part of parent Saks Global’s Chapter 11 restructuring, with some of those closures happening this month depending on inventory timelines. All remaining Neiman Marcus Last Call outlet stores are also being closed during the spring window. Macy’s continues its multiyear plan to close up to 150 underperforming stores, and Kroger is executing an 18-month program to shutter approximately 60 locations following the collapse of its proposed merger with Albertsons.
