Nasdaq AAPL Apple

Metaverse millionaire has a nice ring to it, doesn't it? There probably will be some investors who become millionaires if the metaverse delivers on its potential.

After the atypical 2020 holiday season, where purchases were made online, in-person shopping has returned with 2021. In fact, customers have the option of capitalizing on the best of both the worlds.

"It's going to be a hybrid holiday this year, blending the return of a celebratory feeling with the now normalized pandemic lifestyle," according to Marshal Cohen, chief retail industry advisor for market research for NPD.

Record Holiday Season Predicted: Market analysts are bracing for a record holiday season. The National Retail Federation estimated that the holiday sales during November and December will likely increase between 8.5%-10.5% year-over-year to $843.4 billion-$859 billion. This excludes spending at auto dealerships, gas stations and restaurants.

NPD expects people, on average, to spend $875 on holiday gifts.

As of 9pm on Black Friday, consumers have spent $6.6 billion, according to the Adobe Digital Economy Index. When the final tally is in, consumers will have spent between $8.8 billion and $9.2 billion, the firm estimates.

Related Link: Cannabis Tech Gift Guide: These Are Some Of The Gadgets To Grab This Holiday Season

Even as shopping continues at a frenzied pace, here are a few cool ideas for holiday gifts put together by Loup Funds:

Gifting Ideas For 2021

Apple, Inc.'s (NASDAQ: AAPL) AirTags based on Cupertino's network-driven approach for tracking things

Twitter, Inc. (NYSE: TWTR) Blue priced at $2.99 per month

Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ: TSLA) FSD subscription priced at $199 per month

ENS Name, worth $50-$200

Lunii's My Fabulous Storyteller, priced at $80

West Elm Turntable, valued at $200

Zab's Hot Sauce, priced at $12 for 2

iPad mini, priced at $499

Bleusalt Long Sleeve Crew Pullover, a sustainable fabric that has the feel of cashmere, priced at $110

Ledger Nano S, a hardware wallet to keep one's crypto safe, priced at $59

Glerups Slippers, priced at $125

Fine Line Family K9 dog for $20,000-$80,000

Loup has gone a step further and presented holiday gift ideas for 2022 that include:

Nintendo Co., Ltd. (PNK: NTDOY) 64 Classic Edition

Quest 3, new VR hardware from Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ: FB)

Peloton Interactive, Inc. (NASDAQ: PTON) Strength Machine

Related Link: FedEx Forecast Calls for Holiday Package Shipments to Increase 10%

Latest Ratings for AAPL DateFirmActionFromTo Oct 2021Morgan StanleyMaintainsOverweight Oct 2021BarclaysMaintainsEqual-Weight Oct 2021OppenheimerMaintainsOutperform

View More Analyst Ratings for AAPL View the Latest Analyst Ratings

© 2021 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.

Get insight into trading platforms. Compare the best online stock brokerages.

Once upon a time, companies would set out to change the world. But now, some of the largest technology giants are coming together with a new goal: building an entirely new one. The virtual realm is formally known as the metaverse, and it's going to change the way we live, work, a

COVID-19 has resurfaced as a worry for investors and a potential driver of big market moves after a new variant triggered alarm, long after the threat had receded in Wall Street's eyes.

The NASDAQ 100 After Hours Indicator is up 2.44 to 16,028.02. The total After hours volume is currently 67,404,081 shares traded.The following are the most active stocks for the after hours session: Uber Technologies, Inc. (UBER) is -0.23 at $40.29, with 7,480,824 shares traded.

Apple's global battery development chief, Ahn Soonho, has moved to Volkswagen to lead the automaker's development of electric vehicle batteries, according to his Linkedin profile.

What happened Good news for Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) investors! Investment bank Wedbush is reporting this morning that despite chip deficits and supply chain hurdles, the tech giant is on pace to sell 10 million iPhones this Black Friday weekend.

I wrote about adding to one of my largest positions last week, and it left a few people scratching their heads. I stand by my decision to nibble on Roku (NASDAQ: ROKU) -- twice -- last week, but when I shared my reasoning on Twitter, some questioned the long-term potential of the

Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) investing has reached unprecedented heights. Responding to this trend, Invesco just listed new ESG ETFs based on the Nasdaq-100 ESG Index™ and Nasdaq Next Generation 100 ESG Index™.

Britain looks to be on track for record sales over the Black Friday discount weekend despite supply chain disruption, with initial data indicating nearly a quarter more shopper transactions versus last year.

Shares of Jabil (NYSE: JBL) and Marvell Technology (NASDAQ: MRVL) have delivered outstanding returns to investors in 2021 thanks to the robust growth in their top and bottom lines.

With many major U.S. retailers opening their doors to shoppers at 5 a.m. on Friday, early risers ventured out, hoping to find gifts to tuck under the Christmas tree before products sell out.

InvestorPlace - Stock Market News, Stock Advice & Trading Tips

According to a report published by Reuters, Italy's antitrust regulator has directed Alphabet's (GOOGL) Google and Apple, Inc. (AAPL) to pay a penalty of about €10 million ($11.23 million) for not providing clear and immediate information on the collection and use of data of those who access their services.

The regulator said that while opening an account on Google, users have to accept the terms and conditions of data usage. Meanwhile, Apple users are not presented with a choice in this context. (See Alphabet stock charts on TipRanks) 

Price Target

Goldman Sachs analyst Eric Sheridan maintained a Buy rating on Alphabet with a price target of $3,350 (14.6% upside potential from current levels).

Overall, the stock has a Strong Buy consensus rating based on 25 Buys and 2 Holds. The average Alphabet price target of $3,328.08 implies 13.9% upside potential.

Website Traffic

TipRanks’ Website Traffic Tool, which uses data from SEMrush Holdings (SEMR), the world’s biggest website usage monitoring service, offers insight into Alphabet’s performance this quarter.

According to the tool, the website of Alphabet recorded a 5.1% monthly rise, year-over-year, in global unique visits in October. Moreover, year-to-date website growth, compared to year-to-date website growth in the previous year, came in at 6.6%.

Related News:
UnitedHealth to Offer One Care Benefit Plan in Massachusetts
Seelos Inks $9M Licensing Deal with iX Biopharma
Moody’s Analytics Introduces Asset-Liability Management Tool

Italy's antitrust regulator has fined Alphabet's Google and iPhone maker Apple 10 million euros ($11.2 million) each for "aggressive practices" linked to the commercial use of user data.

With many major U.S. retailers opening their doors to shoppers at 5 a.m. on Friday, early risers ventured out, hoping to find gifts to tuck under the Christmas tree before products sell out.

Italy's antitrust regulator has fined Alphabet's Google and iPhone maker Apple 10 million euros ($11.23 million) each for "aggressive practices" linked to the commercial use of user data.

Climate activists targetted 15 Amazon depots across Britain on "Black Friday" as part of a protest against the e-commerce giant, which the Extinction Rebellion group said epitomised an obsessive overconsumption.

Britain's retailers are hoping Black Friday discount day will get shoppers spending, though it takes place against a backdrop of shortages of both products and drivers to deliver them.

Britain's retailers are hoping Black Friday discount day will get shoppers spending, though it takes place against a backdrop of shortages of both products and drivers to deliver them.