Retail sector weighed by economic uncertainty as consumer habits shift

Investing.com -- The retail sector continues to feel the weight of inflation and shifts in consumer spending habits.

The SPDR® S&P Retail ETF (NYSE:XRT) is down 2.8% on Wednesday as earnings for Nordstrom Inc (NYSE:JWN) are expected after the closing bell.

The XRT is down 4.6% for the month so far, down 11.5% for 3 months, and 2.8% so far this year, according to Morningstar. Rising inflation has crimped household budgets and forced consumers to make choices at the cash register between discretionary items such as apparel and necessities such as food. Retail results have been mixed so far this earnings season, with some companies reporting drops in same-store sales, while stores catering to more affluent shoppers haven't seen a big economic effect yet.

Top holdings of the $383 million asset XRT include the online used car seller Carvana Co (NYSE:CVNA), the videogame retailer GameStop (NYSE:GME), and e-commerce giant Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN).

Analysts expect Nordstrom to report an adjusted loss per share of 10 cents on revenue of $3.1 billion, with same store sales falling compared to the same time last year. Shares of the department store operator are down 6% ahead of that report.