Retail Lower as Barnes & Noble's (BKS) Back Hits the Wall

SPDR S&P Retail (NYSE: XRT) is trading lower by 1 percent intraday on Friday. Shares of Wal-mart (NYSE: WMT) are holding even and shares of Family Dollar (NYSE: FDO) are on the rise, gaining 1.6 percent. However, despite solid performance by the discount retailers, other retailers are facing significant headwinds, including Barnes & Noble, Inc. (NYSE: BKS).

The decline in shares of Barnes & Noble comes as its Nook e-reader, a top revenue driver for the company, is expected to face increasing competition from Google, who recently announced a tablet computer (the Nexus 7) with a price point that puts it in competition against both the Nook and Amazon's (Nasdaq: AMZN) Kindle. With Google now entering the market, the Nook could become a bit of a third wheel by comparison - that is, if the tires don't completely fall off.

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