While 94 percent of the companies in the Standard & Poor's 500 Index have already reported quarterly earnings, this week remains a key week for the retail industry with 24 retailers reporting earnings—12 of which are S&P 500 components.

So far, retail earnings have been mixed. According to Thomson Reuters, S&P Consumer Discretionary blended earnings growth is up 10.8 percent, which is the third strongest sector behind financials, which had a 18.3 percent gain, and telecom, which rose 15.6 percent.

But same-store sales is the key metric for retailers as it measures sales changes for stores in place for at least a year. For the first quarter, aggregate same-store sales are estimated to post anemic growth of 0.7 percent. The barely positive growth is considerably lower than last year's 3.4 percent first-quarter gain.

Wednesday will be a big day from retailers focusing on various specialties within the sector. Before the bell, big-box discounter Target, home improvement retailer Lowe's, specialty apparel retailer American Eagle, and office supply retailer Staples report quarterly results. After the bell, pet-care retailer PetSmart, and specialty apparel retailer L Brands (formerly Limited Brands) report.

Even though Best Buy is one of the last big-box consumer electronics retailers still standing, grabbing consumer dollars still takes a lot of work.

This year will be a transition year as the electronics retailer begins to execute its "renew blue" initiatives. While its first-quarter results are not entirely positive, as the nearly 5 percent decline in its stock price suggests, there are early positive signs that the moves are beginning to resonate with consumers.

Online comparable sales in the U.S. are up 16.3 percent for the quarter, though U.S. same-store sales fell 1.1 percent, and total same-store stores are down 1.3 percent. The consumer electronics retailer gives no guidance, but CEO Hubert Joly remains focused on turning around the downward trend.

"Every gene in me is focused on positive comps, and that's true for the entire team," Joly said in a phone interview with CNBC. "We know initiatives will take time to materialize, but every month, every quarter, we after [positive comps.]"

If the thought of eating a Dunkin Donuts doughnut, egg and bacon-sandwich or Taco Bell's taco with a Doritos shell makes you stop in your culinary tracks, well, that's the point.

Hoping to increase sales and traffic in their restaurants, fast-food and fast-casual operators are cranking up the menu innovation machine to produce items that stray from the gastronomic norm, like Burger King's bacon sundae or Johnny Rockets' Big Apple Shake.

"The pace of innovation has increased dramatically over the past five years," said Darren Tristano, an executive vice president at Technomic. "Consumer preferences are changing more rapidly, product life cycles are shortening and restaurants are on the constant prowl for new, innovative flavor profiles."

If the thought of indulging your sweet tooth with a vanilla ice cream shake made with an actual slice of apple pie makes you want to stop in your culinary tracks and head to the nearest Johnny Rockets, well, that's the point.

Hoping to increase sales and traffic in their restaurants, fast-food and fast-casual operators are cranking up the menu innovation to produce items that stray from the gastronomic norm.

"The pace of innovation has increased dramatically over the past five years," said Darren Tristano, an executive vice president at Technomic, a market research firm. "Consumer preferences are changing more rapidly, product life cycles are shortening and restaurants are on the constant prowl for new, innovative flavor profiles."

Many of these items are offered only for a limited time, which encourages customers to get them while they're still hot (and available.) They're also often geared toward attracting younger pockets.

Click ahead to see some of the most interesting innovations coming out from restaurants' test kitchens.

—By CNBC's Katie Little. Follow her on Twitter at @KatieLittle

Posted 18 May 2013

Imagine having a drink with dinner at a restaurant only to be pulled over on the way home and slapped with a DUI. That could happen under a proposed plan to toughen the drunk driving laws across the country, and it has restaurateurs alarmed.

The National Transportation Safety Board wants states to make it illegal to drive with a blood-alcohol content level above 0.05. Currently all U.S. states set the limit at 0.08. For some people, the lower level could mean no more than a glass of wine.

"It would have a devastating impact on the restaurant industry," said Sarah Longwell, the managing director of the American Beverage Institute.

Six things that have consumers buzzing in the world of beer, wine and spirits this week:

1. Craft Beer Drinkers by the Numbers: This week marked American Craft Beer Week, a week long celebration of the craft beer industry, put on the map by the Brewers Association. To mark the occasion, Market Research firm Mintel released some data from several of its recent beer reports that sheds light on the typical craft beer consumer.

Among the findings, seasonal offerings are a big part of purchasing decisions, with 84 percent of craft beer consumers likely to choose their beer depending on the season.

The growth in the craft space also is being driven by the Millennials, 49 percent of which say craft beer appeals to them. That compares with 40 percent of Gen Xers, 29 percent of Baby Boomers and 22 percent of the Swing Generation/World War II generation.

The morning after the embattled retailer reported another quarterly loss, J.C. Penney CEO Mike Ullman told shareholders: "I have an enduring affection for J.C. Penney, its customers, associates and shareholders...it's a privilege to come back and get us on a profitable growth track."

Without a formal presentation or powerpoint slides, Ullman outlined his priorities for shareholders who gathered inside the company's home office in Plano, Texas, in a large room just to the left of a giant statue of company founder James Cash Penney. For all the controversy surrounding the department store's transformation, the shareholder attendance was sparse, and the meeting was short, lasting only 55 minutes from start to finish.

Ullman's message mirrored the words he spoke on the earnings call less than 24 hours prior. Messaging, marketing, "attractions" in stores, fixing ecommerce, and reaching out to suppliers as the team looks to re-establish some of its more popular private-label brands. Although Ullman didn't name names for those store brands, St. John's Bay, an important billion dollar store brand, is already 50 percent re-established in stores.

The "attractions," Ullman referred to are the shops within J.C. Penney's stores, which had been the cornerstone of former CEO Ron Johnson's plan to overhaul the struggling retailer.

McRib's got a new McRival.

Burger King on Thursday will unveil its 2013 summer menu plans, highlighted by a new, limited-time BK Rib Sandwich, which is boneless like McRib — has a tangy sauce and comes with sweet bread and butter pickles. It will be sold nationally beginning May 21.

BK's other summer roll-outs include a return of Memphis Pulled Pork sandwiches, a line of Carolina BBQ sandwiches and sweet potato fries. It also will introduce a new BBQ Chicken Salad and line of Oreo-infused desserts. All of the products, including the rib sandwich, will be available only though the summer.

The move comes at a time when industry players like Burger King are increasingly taking on McDonald's in product innovation. Now, Burger King is even aiming for Mickey D's piece of the rib sandwich market — whose fans can be fiercely loyal.

Rising home prices stand to benefit home-improvement retailers, especially Lowe's, although investors may have to wait until second-quarter results are out before they see meaningful acceleration, Goldman Sachs said in a new research report.

For now, first-quarter strength will likely be shrouded by unfavorable weather comparisons after a much colder-than-normal period following a more-mild-than-usual first quarter of 2012.

Recent economic data point to a sharp uptick in prices with the median price for a home resale rising the most since 2005 and the S&P/Case-Shiller index showing the best annual increase for single-family home prices since May 2006.

The National Transportation Safety Board voted Tuesday to recommend to states that they lower the blood-alcohol content that constitutes drunken driving.

Currently, all 50 states have set a BAC level of .08, reflecting the percentage of alcohol, by volume, in the blood. If a driver is found to have a BAC level of .08 or above, he or she is subject to arrest and prosecution.

The NTSB recommends dropping that to a BAC level of .05.