NEW YORK — Walmart raised its sales outlook for the year as Americans returned to shopping for back-to-school clothes and travel goods during the second quarter.

Still, concerns are mounting over how shoppers will behave in the months ahead as the delta variant of COVID-19 surges across the U.S. and mask mandates are reinstated. On top of that, higher prices on everything from food to automobiles are making shoppers more conscious about spending.

Data from Home Depot, which also reported earnings Tuesday, showed that traffic in stores fell a bit after a massive rush of DIY projects during lockdowns. At Walmart, the blistering growth in online orders has slowed drastically.

Also on Tuesday, the U.S. reported that retail sales in July fell a seasonal adjusted 1.1%. It was a much larger drop than the 0.3% decline Wall Street analysts had expected.