There has been a noticeable outperformance by online only retailers since the week leading into Thanksgiving. Doing some old school channel check homework at my largest shopping centers has turned up lighter volumes. Have people cut back on spending this holiday season, or are more people opting to shop from home/work using their smart phones and PCs?
I initiated longs in SHLD and SKS this morning in anticipation of them playing a bit of catch-up, however, I don’t trust their brick-and-mortar business models nearly as much as their online ONLY competitors. Heat, well dresses sales associates, rent, and taxes are expensive. I’ll dump SHLD and SKS on any signs of weakness.
Update: I sold both SHLD and SKS when neither name participated in the 10 handle S&P rip.
Note the respective performance of AMZN, EBAY, SHLD, and SKS since the Monday leading into Thanksgiving:
