More and more people are preferring to shop online these days as as Black Fridays sales indicated the number of people who buy their stuff from brick and mortar stores will keep dropping. While brick and mortar stores will be around forever, fact is they might not be as profitable as they used to be. Questions: can an investor still make some decent cash if they bought these stocks (Walmart stock for example)[since they are undervalued] or would it be a risky venture?
While online marketplaces are becoming more and more popular, you only have to drive in to any big city and the department stores are still full of people shopping as they always have been. Amazon are even opening physical shops to go alongside their online marketplace, so the bricks and mortar shops are a long way from dead yet, in my opinion.
I'm not a big fan of the big mall retailers. Sure people still visit them but I've noticed that myself, my relatives and my friends are buying more and more online. It's easier and faster... so I think it's the way of the future. I currently own a REIT that's dealing in malls and shopping centers but they get their revenue as long as they have retailers who want to keep the shops open. I wouldn't invest directly in a retailer though some of them are looking pretty cheap at the moment.
I bought a little Walmart some 6 weeks or so after the big dip. I don't know how long I'll hold it, but I think an investment in that particular company at such a low price could either give a good short to mid-term return... OR it could be a good long hedge if/when markets get bad, and many other more volatile stocks are plunging.
