Consumer electronics retailer Best Buy (NYSE: BBY) goes for around 13 times earnings, department store Macy's (NYSE: M) trades for less than 5 times earnings, and grocery chain Kroger (NYSE: KR) changes hands for roughly 14 times earnings. Valuation has its limits With persistently high inflation and rising interest rates pressuring consumer spending, retailers in general are likely in for a rough and unpredictable 2023. Walmart (NYSE: WMT), for example, suffered a gross margin decline in the third quarter of 2022 and guided for a drop in adjusted earnings for the full fiscal year.