The Retail Misery Story Likely Continued In Q2; Earnings Ahead If retail sector investors have their sights set on surprise blowout Q2 earnings after recent blowout earnings from one online retailer—yes; that would be Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN )— they might be in for a sad and sorry disappointment. The first full quarter under the coronavirus pandemic—and subsequent quarantine and lockdown—is likely to show up as deep double-digit sales declines for many of the nation’s largest retailers. It may not be a total repeat of Q1—when stores were first closed in an effort to stem the spread of the outbreak, but it still likely won’t be pretty. Though many retailers have reported improved sales since some stores began reopening in late April and May, many analysts believe that spending could have been more tied to pent-up demand than a reflection of how consumers feel about spending. The earnings results and conference calls might give better insight. Some analysts see a chunk of Q2’s spending, which happened at a time when hordes of folks were still on temporary furlough or permanent layoff, being tied to the $600 weekly unemployment boost that ended July 31.