A Wal-Mart employee restocks the shelves in the toy department in Pompano Beach, Florida. Getty Images

Discounters

Discount retailers are thriving as many shoppers still enjoy seeking out bargains even when they have more money to spend. T.J. Maxx, Ross Stores and Burlington Stores continue to see sales grow at stores open for at least 12 months, as other companies struggle. Off-price retailers are also especially well-positioned to benefit should the U.S. economy slow and force consumers to budget more cautiously. In good times and bad, "the consumer loves a value," Marie Driscoll, managing director of luxury and fashion for Coresight Research, said. She said millennials are also seeking out off-price channels more and more, making this category of retail's growth prospects even better as that generation of shoppers gains more spending power. At a time when other retailers like Gap and L Brands are shutting some of their stores, discounters are still growing. TJX, which owns HomeGoods, is now opening stores across the U.S. under a new banner called Home Sense; Ross opened 100 stores last year. And, ironically enough, luxury department store chains like Nordstrom continue to try to copy this model to use it as a way to grow sales where their full-priced shops are struggling. The latest push is by Macy's with its Macy's Backstage banner, which it's putting inside existing Macy's stores. Nordstrom has Nordstrom Rack, and Hudson's Bay owns Saks Off 5th.

Big-box chains

Athleisure