Ok, I will admit it, I am not one to frequent the malls, especially on the weekend. But yesterday afternoon I found myself, along with my four year old daughter in a local mall, Northpark, here in Dallas, searching for an evasive pair of summer pants, and of course an ice cream, bribery to get my shopping partner to come along with me.
I am attaching a picture taken from my cell phone at 3:09 pm.
Do you see anything that would make a difference in your investment portfolio?
I will give you another clue from my trip.
It took us over 20 minutes to find a parking spot and traveled to three different levels before we were able to park. At one point my traveling partner suggested we go to another mall, certain there would be ice cream there as well.
Ok, here is the answer!
This mall was packed, absolutely full of people, most carrying one to three purchases. Even our ice cream line took 15 minutes, much to my traveling partners disappointment.
It was hot outside, but we are too far in advance to get the full back to school shoppers, there was nothing special about this day other than consumers out buying stuff!
This simple experience does not change in any major way we invest funds, but it certainly gives us even more confidence, that the consumer, 77% of our Gross Domestic Product, may be coming out of the hole and spending again.
Patiently watching for clues. JK