What's going on?

It looks like Target�s been giving its customers everything they need to enjoy a very merry lockdown: the US retail giant announced impressive sales growth in November and December on Wednesday.

What does this mean?

Ecommerce was �Tarjay�s� pi�ce de r�sistance yet again, with online sales more than doubling in the last two months of 2020 compared to the same period in 2019. But the retailer proved itself elsewhere too: it saw almost 200% growth in its same-day pickup segment, and a more-than 4% rise in sales at stores that�d been open for at least a year. Throw in a 12% increase in the average customer�s spending, and Target�s sales were up over 17% during the holiday period.

Why should I care?

Zooming out: And now, we wait.

One of the biggest questions this year is whether the pandemic-driven tailwinds that have been driving companies like Target will start to peter out. There�s a risk that as more and more Americans are vaccinated, big-box retailers and ecommerce platforms will lose out to in-person shopping experiences like malls. All eyes will be on Target�s update in March, then, when we�ll see just how much of the market it thinks it�ll hang onto.

The bigger picture: Because the internet.

The ecommerce trend is benefiting companies across the Atlantic too: logistics firm Deutsche Post just reported record annual earnings partly thanks to the number of online orders it has to deliver, and it�s predicting it�ll do even better this year. Still, there are signs investors are worried about the strength of the trend: Just Eat Takeaway.com posted weaker-than-expected 2020 profit on Wednesday after reinvesting more than planned, and investors � concerned its reckless spending could cause problems when a vaccinated customer base starts relying less on takeout � ditched the food delivery company�s shares.