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This Week in Retail: Valentine’s Day, January retail sales, CPI

Plus, earnings from McDonald’s, Coca-Cola, and CVS

Couple exchanging Valentine's Day gifts

less than 3 min read

It’s Valentine’s Day on Friday, and while the lovey-dovey affair doesn’t hold a candlelit dinner to the other winter holidays, the National Retail Federation is still expecting $27.5 billion in spending. This is up from $25.8 billion last year, and just beats out the previous record high of $27.4 billion.

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

In data: The consumer price index for January is coming out on Wednesday. In December, the inflation measure increased 0.4% month over month and 2.9% year over year. Then, just in time for Valentine’s Day, the Commerce Department is releasing its monthly sales report for January. In December, sales were up 0.4% month over month and 3.9% year over year.

In earnings: This week is a mixed bag earnings-wise. McDonald’s is releasing its Q4 results on Monday. The fast food chain could build on its gains in Q3, when it reversed its decline in same-day sales despite an E. coli outbreak. Next up is Coca-Cola and Shopify on Tuesday. The former cashed in on higher prices last quarter, even as demand faltered. The latter, meanwhile, had a blockbuster quarter with a 26% increase in revenue. Last up is CVS on Wednesday, and the pharmacy chain could address its rollout of a new feature on the CVS Health app that allows customers to open locked cabinets themselves rather than waiting for an employee.

In promotions: Whether you were up all night celebrating or licking your wounds, Starbucks is offering Rewards members a free coffee on Monday to help them recover from the Super Bowl yesterday. After that, you can head over to Carl’s Jr. for a free “Hangover Burger” to help your post-game recovery.

Retail news that keeps industry pros in the know

Retail Brew delivers the latest retail industry news and insights surrounding marketing, DTC, and e-commerce to keep leaders and decision-makers up to date.

Retail news that keeps industry pros in the know

Retail Brew delivers the latest retail industry news and insights surrounding marketing, DTC, and e-commerce to keep leaders and decision-makers up to date.