Thinking about what the post-Covid return to “normal” will look like has been occupying a lot of my daydreaming lately. I thought I would share with you some things you should consider as things unfold this year.
I recently received an email from one of the major concert and sports ticket resellers touting tickets to the June 25th Dave Matthews Band concert at BB&T Pavilion. I did some research, and lawn seats (where we normally would sit) are selling for $113 per ticket. This far in advance for a show like that, you can normally find lawn seats for around 50 bucks.
People are obviously planning to get vaccinated in hopes of returning to having FUN. I suggest you take action now so you don’t miss out on good deals like I did with the concert tickets. As outlined in our travel webinar, there is an expectation that traveler confidence will increase with vaccinations, and airplanes and resorts will fill up rapidly as consumer confidence returns.
According to the US Department of Transportation Bureau of Transportation Statistics, the average plane ticket from Philadelphia in the third quarter of 2019 cost $345.09. That average went to $244.79 by the third quarter of 2020, and the expectation is that fares will return to the 2019 average and possibly beyond for some period of time as people seek to make up for lost travel.
The opportunities don’t end with entertainment. Many people will be returning to work and will be dressing accordingly. As there was great demand for pajamas and sweatpants in 2020, prices for dress clothes have reflected that. For example, I normally buy my dress shirts from Charles Tyrwhitt. They were running a 4 for $149 sale last February before the pandemic really got started. (That averages $37.25 per shirt). Their current sale is 3 for $89 ($29.67 per shirt). I will be stocking up soon as I would expect their prices will rebound rather quickly as people start to go back to the office.
Whether it’s a concert, vacation or dress clothes, it’s a good idea to take action now. Businesses have certain things in place such as eased refund policies to give you confidence in case Covid were to somehow derail your plans. For that reason, I suggest you put a plan together to get ahead of the masses with certain major purchases. As always, let me know if I can help with this.
Any opinions are those of Wheeler Financial LLC and not necessarily those of Raymond James. Investing involves risk and you may incur a profit or loss regardless of strategy selected. Past performance does not guarantee future results. This is not a recommendation to purchase or sell the stocks of the companies mentioned.
