(Click for video linked to a searchable transcript of this Mad Money segment)
Comments recently made by a major CEO left Jim Cramer convinced that investors must now incorporate two new ideas when thinking about stock picks.
"Earlier this week, Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz, released a partnership note that addressed two new trends: 1) there's been a significant downturn in traditional consumer/pedestrian traffic at malls versus on line shopping and 2) gift cards have grown significantly as gift choices, " Cramer said.
The Mad Money host believes these insights are tremendously meaningful for anyone who puts money to work in the stocks of retailers.
"Stores that sell commodity products will likely be dinged by this trend," Cramer said, especially those that don't have an aggressive presence on the Internet. Conversely, retailers with a strong on-line presence should benefit. "Obviously Amazon is the huge winner in the shift," Cramer noted.
And, the enormous appeal of gift cards could trigger an industry-wide shift. While some retailers such as Starbucks leverage gift cards extremely well, many others are lacking. "Gift cards need to have a significant presence at the cash register to pull this off, and most retailers aren't set up for that," Cramer said.
Therefore, as investors attempt to determine if a retailer is worthy of investment, Cramer believes the trends outlined above should always warrant consideration.
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"Going forward I think we should always think of retail through the twin prisms that Schultz outlined," Cramer said. Ultimately some traditional metrics may no longer be a reliable road sign as you attempt to get a handle on a retailer's quarter.
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