Amazon.com, Inc. (AMZN) Wins Big, But AMZN Stock Is Facing Strong Resistance

After a strong holiday season, Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) stock is moving towards $1000 but it faces strong resistance at current levels.

The holiday season is over, and results are out. Online retail chains, like Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN), scored big over their brick and mortar counterparts. The National Retail Federation expects the retail sales to grow by 3.6%, but much of the growth will be from online sales. According to a report from Adobe (1), the online retail sales grew by 11% this holiday season (between November 1 and December 31) hitting $91.6 billion.

The report was based on aggregated and anonymous data from 24.6 billion visits to retail websites including 80% of all online transactions from the top retailers. There are reports that Amazon cornered a major chunk of these sales.

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In a press release, last week, Amazon had said that it was the company’s “best ever” holiday season. Consumers are increasingly choosing the option of staying back home and ordering on Amazon over visiting the crowded malls and stores. According to Slice intelligence (2), Amazon accounted for 38% of overall online sales. Best Buy Co Inc (NYSE:BBY) came in at second place with a 3.9% share. Other reports peg Amazon’s share even higher.

Source: Slice Intelligence

But the changing consumer behavior has hit the brick and mortar chains hard. In a press release, Macy’s Inc (NYSE:M) announced that it would be closing 68 stores and laying off more than 10000 people after the company reported a dismal quarter. The same store sales declined by 2.1%. It is not Macy’s alone, other departmental stores are facing similar challenges. The holiday season report led to a blood bath in retail stocks yesterday. Macy’s was down 13%, J C Penney Company Inc (NYSE:JCP) down 7.2% and Kohl’s Corporation (NYSE:KSS) was down 19%. Those are pretty scary numbers. On the other hand, Amazon stock gained more than 3% yesterday.

While there is carnage going on in the brick and mortar space, with many retail chains closing hundreds of their stores, Amazon is doubling down on its physical presence. The company recently confirmed that it will be opening its fourth Amazon Books shop in Manhattan soon. Amazon is also planning to open more than 100 pop-up stores. Pop-up stores, with 300 to 500 square feet in area, contain a variety of Amazon products including Fire Tv, Kindle and Echo devices. Amazon sees these stores as a means of directly reaching out to customers and helping in building trust and loyalty. (Also read: Are Fundamentals Really Driving Amazon.com, Inc. (AMZN) Stock Higher?).