If you’re looking for evidence that consumers aren’t spending, you won’t find it at the Super Bowl.
Ticket prices are sky high: scalpers were asking for as much as $1,300 before last year’s game. There will be no such bargains this year – the lowest price you’ll find is $2,000 on many retail websites.
Forget about finding a four- or five-star hotel room in Dallas. They’re gone.
Rental cars? You’ll have to pay: prices are running about 300% above normal, says Murray Coleman for Barron’s.
How can you play this with ETFs?
The Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR (NYSEArca: XLY) fund could be a prime play from an investment standpoint. Some of the top holdings in the fund include NewsCorp. (NYSE: NWSA), the parent of Fox, which is broadcasting the big game.
You could also consider the PowerShares Leisure & Entertainment (NYSEArca: PEJ) fund, which gives you exposure to other companies that benefit from consumers looking to travel: Priceline (NYSE: PCLN, 5.1%), Starbucks (NYSE: SBUX, 4.9%), Orbitz (NYSE: OWW, 2.6%), Travelzoo (NYSE: TZOO, 3.3%) and Expedia (NYSE: EXPE, 2.5%) are among them.
Tisha Guerrero contributed to this article.