Today in Retail: Shoe Carnival Plans to Open 10 New Stores This Year; TJX Expands Its Sustainability Initiatives

Today in retail, chilly spring temperatures lead to mixed earnings results for Lowe’s, while Walmart is hosting Walmart+ Weekend to boost its subscription platform’s loyalty. Plus, Target expects its customers and their desire to spend to turn things around after a quarterly letdown, The Container Store sets sales record and plans to double its sales and Mollie partners with in3 to bring BNPL to the Netherlands.

Walmart+ Weekend Shows Retail Giant’s Need to Boost Subscription Loyalty as Inflation Rages

In the wake of an earnings report that disappointed investors, retail giant Walmart will host Walmart+ Weekend, an online-only event running from June 2 to 5.

Members will have access to discounts on thousands of items, and customers who sign up in a Walmart store during Walmart+ Weekend and become a paid Walmart+ member will get a $20 promo code off their next online purchase.

A new PYMNTS study, “The Benefits of Membership: Mass Retailers and Subscription Services,” found that Walmart is the most frequently cited mass merchant with which consumers shopped. Seventy-five percent of consumers shopped there in the past month, but only 21% of consumers have Walmart+ memberships in place. Conversely, 61% of consumers who made purchases from Amazon are Prime members.

Shoe Carnival Plans 10 New Store Openings This Year

In its fiscal 2022 first-quarter report, Shoe Carnival pointed to sales growth above pre-pandemic levels, as the company’s sales grew 25.1% to $317 million between the first quarter of fiscal 2019 and Q1 of fiscal 2022.

The he company said 2020 and 2021 were fraught with volatility, making the 2019 to 2022 comparison. Shoe Carnival also opened two new stores in the first quarter of fiscal 2022, and plans to open 10 new stores in fiscal 2022. The company does not expect any store closures and plans to boost its store count to more than 400 stores by the end of fiscal 2022.

Target Sees Resilient Consumers, Spending Splurges as It Races to Right-Size Inventory

Target announced an unexpected 40% drop in quarterly earnings Wednesday (May 18), as stunned investors pummeled the retailer’s stock by 25%.

However, the Minnesota-based operator of 1,900 stores and an eCommerce and delivery platform said its relationship with consumers has never been stronger, as reflected by gains in its in-store and digital sales. The resulting chasm between Target’s bottom-line bust and 20-quarter string of same-store sales growth was the result of “unexpectedly high costs” that more than devoured any of the retailer’s gains in sales, digital traffic and visitors.

TJX Adds New Sustainability Goals as Customers Return to Brick-and-Mortar Stores

Stores in the TJX Companies family are part of a growing trend of shoppers returning to brick-and-mortar stores, with its Marshalls and TJ Maxx stores leading the way in increased traffic.

Marshalls’ and TJ Maxx’s comparable store sales were up 3% year over year in the three months ending April 30, thanks to increased customer traffic after a 12% jump in open-only comparable store sales in Q1 of fiscal year 2022. Overall, TJX’s U.S. comparable store sales growth was flat compared to 17% growth one year earlier.

Mollie Teams With in3 for BNPL in the Netherlands

Mollie, an Amsterdam-based payments platform, is partnering with buy now, pay later (BNPL) startup in3 to offer interest-free installments across the Netherlands.

In3 offers BNPL payments via the Dutch payment method iDEAL, which facilitates direct online transfers from consumers’ bank accounts. The Dutch startup, which provides more than 1,500 online and offline merchants with BNPL payment solutions, also recently raised $85.3 million in a Series B funding round. The companies are exploring future BNPL expansion to Germany and other European countries.

Lowe’s Posts Mixed Q1 Earnings as Chilly Spring Cools Demand

Home improvement retailer Lowe’s saw a drop in first-quarter fiscal year sales, coming in at $23.7 billion compared to $24.4 billion in the first quarter of 2021.

Its biggest rival, The Home Depot, reported sales of $38.9 billion for the first quarter of this fiscal year, up 3.8% over last year. Net earnings were $4.2 billion, up from $4.1 billion the previous year.

Lowe’s Chairman, President and CEO Marvin R. Ellison said sales in the first quarter aligned with the company’s expectations, “excluding our outdoor seasonal categories,” which were negatively affected by the “unseasonably cold temperatures in April.” He added that 75% of its customer base is part of the DIY crowd, making its first-quarter sales “disproportionately impacted” by the chilly spring temperatures.

Container Store Cleans up With Record Sales, Plans to Double Business

The Container Store, the Texas-based operator of 94 retail locations and an eCommerce site, seems to have defied the inflation and logistics problems plaguing all of its peers and booked its first billion-dollar year since its founding in 1978.

Although The Container Store’s stock has been cut in half in the past six months, the record results and release of its “path to $2 billion plan” were cheered by investors after the report came out Tuesday (May 17) afternoon, who bid up the shares by as much as 10% in extended trading.