Market analyst Oliver Chen from TD Cowen just dropped an interesting take on this year's holiday shopping season—consumers are proving way more resilient than the pessimists anticipated. Rather than the slowdown narrative we've been hearing, spending patterns are showing real strength.

This kind of consumer resilience matters beyond just retail. When discretionary spending holds up better than feared, it signals broader economic stability and shifts how we should be thinking about everything from inflation trajectories to asset allocation strategies. Strong consumer demand typically ripples through employment, corporate earnings, and ultimately market sentiment.

For investors watching macro trends, this holiday data point is worth tracking—it's one of those signals that can reframe the whole outlook for Q1 and beyond.