Retail has faced some unique pressures over the past few years. The rise of digital and push toward omnichannel selling has essentially separated retailers into three classes.
There's a group of clear winners, including Walmart (NYSE: WMT), Target (NYSE: TGT), Costco (NASDAQ: COST), Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN), and a few others. Then there's a middle class including Macy's (NYSE: M) and Kohl's (NYSE: KSS) that might have been sensible investments before the coronavirus pandemic but are less sure right now. Lastly, of course, there are the losers, companies including J.C. Penney (NYSE: JCP) and Sears (OTC: SHLDQ) that faced long odds before this crisis and now face probably insurmountable hurdles.
Walmart has been thriving during the pandemic. Image source: Walmart.