Should I Buy Retail Stocks Now?

Retail has faced some unique pressures over the past few years. The rise of digital and push toward omnichannel selling has essentially separated retailers into three classes.

There's a group of clear winners, including Walmart (NYSE: WMT), Target (NYSE: TGT), Costco (NASDAQ: COST), Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN), and a few others. Then there's a middle class including Macy's (NYSE: M) and Kohl's (NYSE: KSS) that might have been sensible investments before the coronavirus pandemic but are less sure right now. Lastly, of course, there are the losers, companies including J.C. Penney (NYSE: JCP) and Sears (OTC: SHLDQ) that faced long odds before this crisis and now face probably insurmountable hurdles.