We all have a lot to do in the busy holiday season, but if you’re like me, you’re spending a lot more time on one thing anyway – unpacking and then recycling all of those boxes!
Yes, I’ve become a couch potato shopper. In fact, I did all of my Black Friday shopping from my home this year, meaning I did it online. I’ve spent many a holiday shopping season fighting crowds in stores, and I am more than happy to stay comfortable on my couch – which I also happened to buy online, by the way.
I’m not alone. According to Adobe Analytics, U.S. retailers brought in a record $7.9 billion in online sales on Thanksgiving and Black Friday – up nearly 18% from last year. And Cyber Monday was officially the largest online shopping day in U.S. history.
So think about it. What happens after all those orders are placed? Well, first they need to get packaged, and then they need to get shipped. When they arrive at your house, that means more boxes, paper and bubble wrap than you probably want to deal with. I recently read an international story about an Amazon package that contained 45 feet of paper protecting the item. Must have been a big item, right? No, it was a flimsy wall calendar!
Crazy as that may sound, don’t dismiss that story as one Amazon packager going a little overboard. It’s emblematic of a much bigger trend at work, which is the changing retail landscape and the many ripple effects that are only now beginning to be felt.
Retail is a critical sector any time of the year, but especially now during the biggest shopping season. That makes retail the ultimate NexGen holiday trend. Just today, I sent subscribers of my NexGen investing services my latest research report highlighting the changes that are taking place and the multiple ways we can make money off of them. I wanted to share a small piece of it with you as well.
Multiple Ways to Profit
The retail landscape is changing profoundly, and it means investors have to take a new approach rather than relying on Wall Street’s old ways. This is where NexGen investing really gets exciting. Retail, like many of the other mega-trends I follow, has all sorts of niche opportunities within the broader category.
We already talked about one: packaging and delivery. Let’s start with the packaging angle. All that stuff in the package has to come from somewhere, starting with trees. That makes timber companies interesting (and there are some other political and economic developments that make them even more so). Then there are companies that make containerboard and corrugated packaging products. I have one I like in particular.
Once everything is boxed up, all of those packages need to be delivered. Sure, there are the well-known shipping giants like FedEx (FDX) and UPS (UPS), but there are better opportunities out there if you look. For example, one is in a smaller, lesser-known company that provides “last mile logistics” – coordination over the last phase of shipping as the package makes its way from a transportation hub to your doorstep. I’ve also just recommended a company in NexGen Investor that owns distribution centers and warehouses that help facilitate the delivery of goods.
Digging Even Deeper
Packaging and delivery is only one of those ripples we can make money on in the changing retail landscape, especially if you dig below the surface. Not all companies will thrive in the world of e-commerce and delivery, but there is money to be made in the mega-trend of millennials preferring experiences over stuff.
In addition to shopping, the holiday season is filled with parties. That means adult beverages are popular, so you may want to look at one of the largest alcoholic beverage companies in the country. It also just acquired 10% of the largest cannabis (marijuana) company in Canada, so you get a few trends in one stock.
And I have to mention one of my favorite trends of the season: video gaming and eSports. Two of the major players in the space reported better-than-expected numbers last month, Activision Blizzard (ATVI) and Take-Two Interactive Software (TTWO) – a familiar name that brought us 35% returns in NexGen Trader. I currently recommend two companies leading the way in this trend NexGen Investor, and one is already up 33% for us. The other is unique in that it is both a hardware and software maker. I feel the company is greatly undervalued and believe it will be a huge winner in the coming years.
As you can see, there are so many exciting ways to play the retail trend that don’t require bowing to the Amazon (AMZN) throne. In fact, I’d say most of these other areas hold far more potential than the e-commerce king! That’s the beauty of NexGen: We look outside of Wall Street’s narrow focus to find the best ways to make money on the biggest trends.
If you would like to receive my full retail report, simply click here to start a risk-free trial subscription to NexGen Investor today. You’ll get immediate access to the website, which includes the report and details on all of the opportunities we’ve talked about.
Happy holiday shopping!
