Holiday Retail Sales Expectations

Holiday sales have been aggressive this year, says Erin Sykes, with Amazon holding a Prime Day in October. She says that could pull forward sales for the entire retail sector, and so she doesn't think we'll beat last year's Black Friday numbers. She notes that sales are typically in the same areas, such as tech and appliances, and at the same stores, such as Target (TGT), Best Buy (BBY), Amazon (AMZN), and Walmart (WMT). Erin adds that the U.S. consumer has over $1B of credit card debt, and that interest rates are hitting hard.