VCR News and Press, Vanguard Consumer Discretion From 11/26/20

Many retailers are hoping that this year's Black Friday/holiday promotions will help them back into the black. Currently, many retailers are promoting new item-level markdowns, to give shoppers first dibs on merchandise they've had their eyes on. What's surprising is the amount of...

The National Retail Federation held a holiday sales call this morning. The outlook for the holiday season is bright. The NRF notes that consumers have been engaged at a strong rate this year during prior holidays, which it takes as a good sign. The early start to the holiday season is seen as...

According to the Verizon Business Retail Trends Report, online retailers are booming as COVID-19 restrictions led to an increase in online shopping this holiday season.As per the National Retail Federation ((NRF)) first week of November 2020 shows 82% Y/Y increase in data traffic. 20% fewer p...

Retail sales rose for the sixth month in a row in October, with sales significantly better than the same time a year ago with some holiday shopping pulled forward.Retail sales were up 10.6% Y/Y during the month after the gas, auto dealers and restaurant categories were stripped out."Consumers...

U.S. retailers are getting ready to report Q3 2020 earnings. The Refinitiv U.S. Retail and Restaurant Q3 earnings index is expected to decline by -13.8%. When looking at the earnings growth rates for Q3 for the 206 retailers tracked by Refinitiv, the Leisure Products and Internet ...

Vanguard's Consumer Discretionary Index ETF has an enviable record of out-performance since the bottom of the Financial Crisis. Some of that out-performance is explained by its odd choice of "consumer discretionary" stocks. The very factors that have made it succeed in the past ma...

The COVID-19 pandemic has led to a number of retailers filing for bankruptcies and store closures. Canadian retailers like Lululemon and Aritzia are weathering the storm. High unemployment and reduced government benefits could negatively impact holiday sales. For further det...

Friday morning personal income and spending for September was reported. Both real income and spending increased, which is positive - and surprising. While real retail sales have exceeded their precession peak, the broader measure of real personal spending has still only recovered ...

The coronavirus pandemic continues to restrain normal activities, including traditional Halloween events, such as trick or treating and costume parties. As a result, retailers are feeling the pinch of a very scary Halloween season. The National Retail Federation says that total Ha...

This 5% decline in consumer spending intentions for the holidays is in stark contrast to the 4% increase that the National Retail Federation found a year ago in its October 2019 survey. If consumer spending intentions on gifts translate into some sort of reality, total retail spending...