This post Smoking Gun Evidence appeared first on Daily Reckoning.

"Put your money where your mouth is!"

That's what my brother said to me when I challenged him to a March Madness basketball contest.

Each year, we fill out a bracket for the big basketball tournament that kicks off tonight. And the winner gets bragging rights for the next year.

Since I'm not much of a gambler, we'll stick with our traditional one-dollar bet.

But with that said, I definitely understand the value of actually committing your money to something that you believe strongly in.

And today, I want to show you a special area of the market where executives are committing big dollars to back up their growth expectations. This spending is true "smoking gun" evidence of the rebound in the retail area that we've been talking about for the last few months.

Hopefully, you've been able to get started investing in the area. But if not, there's still time to put your money where your mouth is and capture some big profits from this explosive opportunity!

A Major Bet on Future Growth

It's easy for managers to talk a big game about the growth that they're expecting over the next year.

But it's entirely different when those same managers start putting money behind their words, paying for new workers to stock shelves, man storefronts and run cash registers.

But that's exactly what we're seeing in the retail are right now!

Last month, retail companies added an additional 50,000 jobs to the economy. This hiring in the retail sector made up a big portion of the strong jobs number that sent the market sharply higher at the end of last week.

This week, I sent out a tweet pointing out the strength in retail hiring.

Retail Hiring picks up in March
Source: Twitter

As a side note, following me on Twitter is a great way to keep up with my day-to-day thoughts on the market in real-time.

It's easy to follow my investment notes on Twitter. Just click on my Twitter feed here ? and then click "follow" on the right-hand side of the page.

Back to the new retail jobs that helped to drive the market higher…

It's very encouraging to see hiring pick up in this area, especially since the general perception is that retail stocks are dead because of Amazon.

In actuality, this is not true at all?

Sure, Amazon has made it difficult for many traditional retail companies to compete. But if you look at specific retail opportunities that have a way to insulate themselves against Amazon's dominance, you'll see some great ways to generate some excellent investment returns.

Restaurant Chains Poised to Expand

One area of retail that is largely immune to Amazon's competition is the restaurant industry.

In particular, fast-food and quick-service restaurants have been catching my eye lately.

Now that jobs are more plentiful and more Americans are re-entering the job market, we should see a big pickup in restaurant sales. After all, busy people still need to eat, but they have less time to stop at the grocery and head home to fix a home-cooked meal.

Keep in mind that as jobs become more plentiful and as wages tick higher, consumers will naturally gravitate to more expensive items on the menu. For instance, when we stop at Moe's after my daughter's cheer practice, her first question is always, "Can we get queso?"

I've found myself in a mood to say yes more often lately. And I know I'm not alone as I watch other families walk through the burrito line and pick out the more expensive options.

Another growth example is Dunkin' Brands.

My son is now an assistant manager at one of their stores and he's been seeing higher ticket sales at his register.

More importantly, Dunkin' is planning to open another 1,000 locations over the next three years, hoping to tap into the widespread growth in consumer spending.¹

And while some investors worry that DNKN will have trouble finding employees for its new stores, the entrance of 800,000 new Americans into the workforce last month makes this much less of a concern.

In short, it's a great time to be invested in profitable restaurant stocks. But you'll want to get your money where your mouth is before these stocks take off this summer!

Here's to growing and protecting your wealth!

Zach Scheidt
Editor, The Daily Edge
Twitter ? Facebook ? Email

¹ The Great Labor Church, Avi Salzman, Barron's

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