Cyber Week has started, and with tens of billions in sales set to pass through retailers in less than a week, it’s safe to say that the holiday shopping season is upon us again and off to a great start.
Some retailers can typically make or break their yearly sales estimates during this week. Some experts peg this Cyber Monday to be the biggest shopping day in history with year-over-year sales expectations set to top 11% and retailers ringing in a combined US$91 billion in sales.
Cyber Week can also be a great time to buy some of the best retail stocks on the market–often at a discount. Here are couple of great retail stocks to consider owning this holiday season.
Canadian Tire Corporation Limited
As one of the most well-known retail brands in the country, Canadian Tire Corporation Limited (TSX:CTC.A) has been a stop for Canadians for over 90 years.
Originally seen as the go-to place to get sporting equipment or parts for a car, Canadian Tire has evolved over the past few years to become the envy of large retailers, particularly when it comes to technology innovation.
Why should you invest in Canadian Tire this holiday season?
First, the company has done incredibly well integrating technology into the sales process over the past year, and that has translated into both increased store traffic and sales. The company’s replacement of paper Canadian Tire money with a new digital offering and accompanying app has introduced the company to a whole new generation of mobile-wielding consumers that are looking for purchases. At least one-third of a US$3 billion estimate for sales during this week is slated to be attributed to mobile sales.
Canadian Tire has more than one brand, and some of the company’s other labels tend to experience a surge in sales during the holiday season. Both Mark’s and FGL Sports are well-performing brands that have continued to support the growth of the company over the past few years.
Alimentation Couche Tard Inc.
There’s so much to love about Alimentation Couche Tard Inc. (TSX:ATD.B), and it’s not just during the holiday season. Couche Tard has defied critics to become one of the largest convenience store operators in the world in a relatively short period. In fact, you may have stumbled into one of the company’s locations recently and not even realized it, thanks to the dizzying array of brands and impressive number of locations Couche Tard has.
Why should you consider Couche Tard?
This is a company that has aggressively grown to become one of the best in the industry. By primarily targeting smaller convenience store operators through acquisitions, the company is quickly growing its reach into new markets, acquiring locations that already have considerable amounts of traffic.
Couche Tard is in a fairly unique position right now. While still posting healthy profits and revenue for the most recent quarter, the figures fell short of the performance in the previous quarter, which caused a sell-off on the stock.
Couche Tard noted in its quarterly report that much of that decline could be attributed to delays stemming from an oil pipeline leak, a flood, and a hurricane. Each of those could be considered a rare event on their own, and we’ve already seen in previous quarters what an out-of-control fire can do to both the energy and rail industries. Couche Tard is no different.
Nonetheless, the stock is trading at a discount now, but long-term prospects for the company have never been better. Despite the weaker than expected results, Couche Tard still managed to hike the dividend by 16%.
