Why Retail Stocks Plunged Today

Shares of Macy's (NYSE: M), Kohl's (NYSE: KSS), Gap (NYSE: GPS), Foot Locker (NYSE: FL), Urban Outfitters (NASDAQ: URBN), and Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE: ANF) all fell more than 6% on Thursday, as investors grew increasingly concerned about the COVID-19 coronavirus epidemic. 

Many retailers have been weakened in recent years by the relentless growth of e-commerce. As consumer spending has increasingly shifted to online channels, many traditional stores have experienced declining traffic and sales trends. Nowhere was this more prevalent than in malls and strip malls, many of which have been particularly hard hit by the growth of online retail.

Now it appears that mall-based retailers are facing another fearsome threat: the COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak. Fears that shoppers will avoid crowded malls in hopes of protecting themselves from the disease led many investors to sell their shares on Thursday.

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Source Fool.com