Andrea Felsted, Columnist

Teeth Whiteners and Travel Bags Are the New Reopening Trade

With life starting to return to normal, people are spending on items they haven’t needed for more than a year, boosting retailers from Walmart to Macy’s.

May 18, 2021 at 4:15 PM UTC

By Andrea Felsted

Andrea Felsted is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering consumer goods and the retail industry. Previously, she was a reporter for the Financial Times.

Americans are ready to get out and that’s a spurring a whole new wave of spending. — Americans are ready to get out and that’s a spurring a whole new wave of spending.
Photographer: Westend61/Westend61

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Get ready for the new reopening trade — and it has nothing to do with the stock market. Think teeth and travel.

In discussing its latest earnings on Tuesday, retail giant Walmart Inc. said it had noticed an increase in sales of teeth-whitening products in areas of the U.S. where face coverings were no longer required. At Macy’s Inc., Chief Executive Officer Jeff Gennette said luggage was one of the department store’s categories that had the biggest jump in sales in its first quarter. Notice a trend?