Eyes are fixed on retail giants Walmart Inc (NYSE:WMT), Lowe's Companies Inc (NYSE:LOW), Target Corp (NYSE:TGT), Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) and others who are set to set to release earnings this spring. Foot traffic data could provide a glimpse into the sector's upcoming performance.
Walmart and Sam's Club Foot Traffic: According to Placer.ai, visits at Walmart were up 3.9% year-over-year, and at subsidiary Sam's Club they were up 6.1%. Walmart's year-over-year visits fell 2.7% in April, rose 7.7% in March and rose 4.4% in February while Sam's Club's visits were up 1.9% in April, up 8.2% in March and up 6.9% in February. The company posted solid growth in Minnesota, Wyoming, North Dakota and South Dakota.
Walmart will release first-quarter earnings on May 16.
Lowe's Foot Traffic: Lowe's visits during the first quarter were down 4% year-over-year, up 0.2% in April, down 1.1% in March and down 2.8% in February. Competitor Home Depot Inc (NYSE:HD), which already released earnings on May 14, reported visits down 1.1% year-over-year during the first quarter.
Lowe's will report first-quarter earnings on May 21.
Target Foot Traffic: Visits in the first quarter at Target were up 3.5% year-over-year. Visits climbed 1.4% in April, 6.3% in March and 5.3% in February.
Target will report first-quarter earnings on May 22.
Costco Foot Traffic: Costco saw the biggest gains in foot traffic in the first quarter. Visits soared 8.9% year-over-year and were up 9.2% in April, 10.5% in March and 10.9% in February.
Costco will report first-quarter earnings on May 30.