We may get a better sense of how the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic has shaped the US economy this week.
Key business events and reports are scheduled to be released that will likely shed some light on where and how people are spending their money.
Losing confidence?
Later today (Tuesday April 28
th), the Conference Board is set to release its US consumer confidence index for April 2020. In March, the
number sunk to 120, down from 132 the previous month and its lowest rating in nearly three years. As the economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic continued to rain down on global stock markets, it triggered a drastic slide, which in turn fueled concern about what further damage could be caused by the pandemic. April’s projected reading is expected to fall further to 85 and any number below 90 reflects a contracting economy.
Recession indication?
On Wednesday, the US Commerce Department will release it’s Q1 2020 advance estimate on the US’ Gross Domestic Product performance.
Media reports that a projection from economists forecasts a contraction of 4% for the US economy at a seasonally adjusted annual rate over the first three months of 2020. According to the Commerce Department’s Q4 2019 data, that would be down from a 2.1% gain that capped off last year. The leading contributors to last quarter’s increase came from retail trade, finance and insurance, as well as utilities. The department stated that overall, 17 of 22 industry groups contributed to Q4’s 2.1% increase in real GDP.
(Image via https://bea.gov)
For reference, Q3 2019 was also 2.1% while Q2 was 2% and Q1 2019 was 3.1%.
Shop ‘till you drop online
With so many people stuck inside, online shopping for necessities, as well as good old-fashioned retail therapy, is seeing a lot more action. Shoppers were already gravitating toward online channels prior to the outbreak of the coronavirus.
On Thursday, April 30th,
Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) will hold
a live conference call to discuss its fiscal Q1 2020 financial results on 2020 at 2:30 pm PST / 5:30 pm EST. Investors can get a clearer picture from how this major distributor has fared during this crisis and how other companies in this space are likely doing, as well.
In February 2020, e-commerce business
Shopify Inc. (TSX:SHOP) indicated that it would see revenues in the range of $440 million - $446 million for
Q1 2020.
Several exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in the e-commerce space have also been seeing business growth in the months leading up to Q1 2020:
- ProShares Online Retail ETF (ONLN) – Up 2.72% to $ 42.72
- Amplify Online Retail ETF (IBUY) – Up 3.56% to $ 53.54
- Global X E-Commerce ETF (EBIZ) – Up 2.8% to $ 18.81
Could this pandemic be the turning point for online shopping platforms? Have you contributed to this growth by increasing your own online shopping habits? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.