Economy

The Week Ahead: Prime Early Access Sale, Inflation, Retail sales

Check out events, earnings and economic indicators in commerce for Oct. 10-14

The Week Ahead: Prime Early Access Sale, Inflation, Retail sales

Welcome to a new week. It's only October, but the holiday season is already kicking off. Amazon and Walmart are set to hold fall deals events to help get a head start on deals, and give the early birds even more reason to shop. Check out what’s on tap in a busy week for commerce below:

​Events

  • Parcel Forum 2022:In Chicago, the supply chain conference gathers B2C and B2B shippers, with a focus on those delivering for ecommerce brands in areas like fulfillment, delivery, rates and more. Oct. 10-12
  • Prime Early Access Sale: Get ready for Prime Day, part 2. Amazon is holding a two-day deals event with savings, and a curated Top 100 list of top giftable products. It’s the first run for the fall Prime event, so we’ll be watching closely to see how brands and sellers fare. Oct. 11-12
  • Rollbacks and More: Walmart is rolling out its own two-day deals event alongside the Prime extravaganza. It has already announced deals on toys, air fryers, luggage and more. Oct. 10-13
  • Trada Holiday Market: Trada, the recently-launched B2B marketplace from Quickbooks, is holding an event to allow retailers and suppliers to connect ahead of the holidays to source unique items. The small business-focused event allows suppliers to run promotions across its catalog, and Quickbooks will match discounts up to 10%.

​Economic Indicators

Inflation and retail sales put consumer behavior in focus this week:

  • Producer Price Index: The US Commerce Department's measure of the change in wholesale prices for September will offer a look at inflation upstream ahead of Thursday’s closely-watched announcement. Wed., Oct. 12, 8:30 a.m.
  • Consumer Price Index: The monthly reading from the US Labor Department will show whether inflation is continuing to run at 40-year highs, or if a cooling is being detected following three straight interest rate hikes from the Federal Reserve. A key question: Are food and shelter inflation coming down after being elevated last month? Thurs, Oct. 13, 8:30 a.m.
  • Retail sales: Following inflation comes a look at whether people are continuing to spend in the face of rising prices. Retail sales data from the US Commerce Department provides a look at the demand picture, and offer a crucial measure of the consumer heading into the holidays. Fri., Oct. 14, 8:30 a.m.
  • Consumer sentiment: The University of Michigan offers its first reading of consumer sentiment for the month. This metric was unchanged in September, remaining at low levels amid uncertainty and inflation. Fri., Oct. 14, 10 a.m.

​Earnings

The cycle begins anew as third quarter earnings season kicks off this week. Corporate executives will provide an updated look at the economic picture through the end of September.

  • Tues., Oct. 11: Artizia
  • Wed., Oct 12: PepsiCo
  • Thurs., Oct. 13: Walgreens Boots Alliance, Prologis, Domino’s Pizza, Goldman Sachs
  • Fri, Oct. 14: JP Morgan Chase, Citigroup, Morgan Stanley, PNC, Wells Fargo, US Bancorp

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