Trading professionally requires a lot more than analyzing the news cycle and confirming certain sentiments with chart patterns and technical analysis. The best in the field get paid the most because of one single ability: connecting the dots. Today, investors will have a chance to exercise this muscle through the recent release of retail sales data for the United States economy.
Connecting the dots in this report will show a clear pattern in the retail sector, where consumers are starting to pull back on some of the more discretionary spending items in the market while also rerouting their spending habits to defensive items. However, there is one area where spending did not pull back, and whether it is due to convenience or better pricing dynamics, non-store retailers saw the biggest expansion in sales for the past month.
