Internet stocks have surged in the COVID-induced 2020 as it has less to do with human contact. The coronavirus scare favored the online retailing industry as lockdowns boosted demand for online shopping and other kinds of Internet activities. No wonder, e-commerce stocks and ETFs have skyrocketed this year.
Then, after almost round-the-year coronavirus-induced fear, the Holiday Season has now officially set in. Consumers have started stacking up their shopping carts. Over the last few years, online sales have gained precedence. The coronavirus outbreak has raised the appeal of the space even more as it has less to do with human contact.
At the start of the fourth quarter, Big Four accounting firm Deloitte had predicted e-commerce holiday retail sales to grow between 25% and 35% from November through January, reaching $182 billion to $196 billion in total. On the other hand, market research firm Forrester expected online retail jumping 18.5% this year and attaining 20.2% overall penetration in North America (read:
Buy E-Commerce ETFs to Tap “Safe & Early” Holiday Shopping
).
“For the last four years, e-commerce growth has averaged between 13% to 17% increase, and last year it was up 14.7%. This year it will go ballistic, somewhere around 25% and it may go higher,” per Deloitte’s vice chairman and U.S. leader retail and distribution, as quoted on the Forbes article.
Consumers shelled out about $9 billion (a new record) on the web on Black Friday, up 21.6% year over year, according to data from Adobe Analytics (which tracks website transactions from 80 of the top 100 U.S. online retailers),
as quoted on CNBC
. As a result, Black Friday 2020 came across as the second-largest online spending day in history in the United States, behind Cyber Monday last year, Adobe indicated.
Thanksgiving Day online sales also hit a record $5.1 billion, up 21.5% from last year, per Adobe,
as quoted on CNBC
. Cyber Monday 2020 turned out the biggest digital sales day in history in the United States.
Against this backdrop, below we highlight a few e-Commerce ETFs and stocks that have outperformed this year.
Stocks in Focus
Fiverr International Lt.
FVRR
– Up 844.1%
It provides an online marketplace for selling goods and services. The company provides logo, poster and brochure designing, as well as photoshop editing, content marketing, web analytics and translation services.
Overstock.com Inc.
OSTK
– Up 780.1%
Overstock.com is primarily an e-commerce service provider. The company sells its broad range of price-competitive products, including furniture, home decor, bedding and bath, and housewares through its www.overstock.com, www.o.co and www.o.biz websites.
JUMIA TECHADR
JMIA
– Up 520.5%
Jumia Technologies AG provides e-commerce services. The company offers products, which includes dresses, leggings, skirts, polo shirts, belts, watches, sunglasses, health products, beauty products and a range of products for children, among others.
Pinduoduo Inc. Sponsored ADR
PDD
– Up 288.3%
Pinduoduo Inc. provides an e-commerce platform allowing users to participate in group buying deals, primarily through Tencent’s Wechat app. Pinduoduo Inc. is based in Shanghai, China.
Wayfair Inc.
W
– Up 213.2%
The company is one of the world’s leading online sellers of home goods products, consisting of furniture and home decor.
ETFs in Focus
Amplify’s Online Retail ETF
IBUY
– Up 131.4%
The underlying EQM Online Retail Index utilizes a rules-based methodology to select a globally diverse group of companies with 70% or more of revenue from online and virtual sales. It charges 65 bps in fees.
ProShares Online Retail ETF
ONLN
– Up 120.1%
The underlying ProShares Online Retail Index is a specialized retail index that tracks retailers which principally sell online or through other non-store channels. The fund charges 58 bps in fees.
ProShares Long Online/Short Stores ETF
CLIX
– Up 100.1%
The underlying index consists of long positions in online retailers, included in the ProShares Online Retail Index, and short positions in the bricks and mortar retailers included in the Solactive-ProShares Bricks and Mortar Retail Store Index. The fund charges 65 bps in fees (see
all long/short ETFs
here).
Emerging Markets Internet & Ecommerce ETF
EMQQ
– Up 76.1%
The underlying EMQQ The Emerging Markets Internet & Ecommerce Index is designed to measure the performance of an investable universe of publicly traded, emerging market Internet and ecommerce companies. It charges 86 bps in fees (read:
A New ETF to Play Rapid Emergence of Emerging Market Internet
).
The Global X E-commerce ETF
EBIZ
– Up 74.1%
The underlying Solactive E-commerce Index provides exposure to exchange-listed companies that looks to benefit from the growing adoption of e-commerce as a distribution model. It charges 50 bps in fees.
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