A quick one this week while Josh is away visiting his Yankee side of the family for thanksgiving! And my ‘grand debut’ to the Kingsmill’s Investment Miscellanea. 

 

I always found it ironic that Black Friday falls the day after Thanksgiving (at least in the US). That after a day of gratitude and giving thanks for all that we already have in our lives, the biggest day of consumerism follows. With most retailers starting their big sales on Thanksgiving day itself!

 

While Americans saw roughly $9 billion in sales revenue from Black Friday in 2021, this was outperformed by an approximate $11 billion in sales from Cyber Monday. That trend is expected to continue in 2022, with just a slight increase in both figures. This lower rate of growth is attributable to a number of factors, primarily inflation, as well as the fact that retailers are continuing to stretch Black Friday out over a number of days or weeks, and supply chain issues not being completely behind us yet.

 

It is a critical day for the retail sector at large, considering that the holiday season and few weeks surrounding Black Friday make up for roughly 20% of annual sales for many retailers.

 

I suppose the big question is: does this have any impact on the market or broader investor sentiment? The answer: not really.

 

Some economists use it as an indication for the level of growth to be expected, but generally, it is only retail stocks that are likely to see any kind of shift, depending on how strong or weak the black Friday to cyber-Monday weekend sales go. This, however, is usually not significant enough to affect the broader market.

 

Shifting gears, we are now preparing for our next seminar: “Investing Opportunities in a High-Rate Environment”. Save the date, for Monday December 12th @ 4:00pm.

 

Speaking will be Jamie Levey and Ryan Harder. They will discuss the opportunities in fixed income and share their expertise.

 

More information and invitations coming soon.

 

Have a great weekend!

- Avril