Inflation isn’t stopping holiday shoppers this year. And store discounts could propel retail-focused ETFs higher, paving the way for trading opportunities in a pair of Direxion funds.
One of the persistent trends is the growth of online shopping, which consumers took full advantage of during Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Deep discounts offered by retailers were an obvious draw for shoppers, especially in a macroeconomic environment that’s seen the prices of goods rise the past few years.
“Americans spent $13.3 billion online on Monday in the United States, according to an Adobe [report. Consumers] nabbed steep holiday discounts on everything from electronics to toys following lackluster demand at U.S. stores on Black Friday.,” reported Reuters. The report also said that spending increased 7.3% this year on Cyber Monday versus last year.
“That follows the roughly $10.8 billion Americans spent online on Black Friday this year, according to [Adobe. That company] keeps track of devices that use its software to help power more than 1 trillion visits to U.S. retail sites,” the report continued.
This should help the Direxion Daily Retail Bull 3X ETF (RETL). This fund seeks daily investment results of 300% of the daily performance of the S&P Retail Select Industry Index. That is a modified equal-weighted index designed to measure performance of the stocks comprising the S&P Total Market Index.
A Single-Stock ETF Opportunity
With more shoppers heading online to make purchases, Amazon is an obvious beneficiary. The online retailer reported record Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales, capitalizing on store discounts and holiday shopping events.
“We know how much our customers appreciate saving [money. Our] customers saved billions with us during this year’s holiday shopping event,” said Doug Herrington, CEO, Worldwide Amazon Stores, in a press release. “And we have many more fun and exciting ways for them to continue to save this holiday season. Whether they’re checking off their holiday lists finding new deals on toys, fashion, electronics, homewares and other products dropping every day between now and December 24, turning to Amazon for Same-Day Delivery on everyday essentials to help celebrate the holidays, or discovering ultra-low priced stocking stuffers in Amazon Haul, we want to thank our customers for choosing Amazon during this special time of year. I also want to thank our employees, vendors, and selling partners for delivering an outstanding experience time after time.”
Amazon’s stock is up over 40% year to date while also rising 8% within the past month. If more upside is ahead following the Christmas holiday, traders can add double the exposure to the stock with the Direxion Daily AMZN Bull 2X Shares (AMZU).
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