Retail stocks are rallying on Dec. 1 as online shopping during the U.S. Thanksgiving weekend reached $30 billion, nearly 10% higher than last year.
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Data from Adobe (ADBE) suggests that U.S. shoppers spent $30 billion online from Thanksgiving last Thursday through Sunday evening. The company expects consumers will spend a record $14.2 billion on Cyber Monday (Dec. 1), bringing the weekend’s total spending to more than $40 billion.
Online spending during this year’s Thanksgiving holiday rose 9.1% from the same period last year, marking a positive start to the year-end holiday shopping season that runs through the end of December. As a result, stocks of leading retailers such as Walmart (WMT), Amazon (AMZN), and the Gap (GAP) are up 1% to 2% on an otherwise down day for U.S. markets.
Resilient Consumers
Other retail stocks rallying higher on Dec. 1 include Victoria’s Secret (VSCO), Macy’s (M), and Ulta Beauty (ULTA), some of which are up as much as 4%. Analysts appear pleased with the Thanksgiving sales, noting that American consumers have shown themselves to be resilient despite tariffs and signs of an economic slowdown in the U.S.
However, while online shopping over Thanksgiving proved to be strong, in-person sales were more modest. According to data from credit card giant Mastercard (MA), in-store sales grew 1.7% over the U.S. holiday weekend from a year ago. In-store visits by consumers declined 2.1% from 2024. Mastercard estimates that, in total, online and in-person shopping during Thanksgiving rose 4.1% from last year.
Is AMZN Stock a Buy?
AMZN stock has a consensus Strong Buy rating among 44 Wall Street analysts. That rating is based on 43 Buy and one Hold recommendations assigned in the last three months. The average AMZN price target of $295.60 implies 25.86% upside from current levels.
