Thanksgiving Day gatherings commence in the U.S. on Thursday, Nov. 26. This event also marks the start of the end-of-year holiday season.
The following day, this year Nov. 27, has been dubbed Black Friday. It's typically the busiest shopping day of the year stateside. Recent metrics show how important that day has become for retailers:
"Thirty six percent of surveyed U.S. consumers planned to do most of their holiday shopping on Black Friday in 2020."
And that's not all. Over the past decade, Black Friday has expanded to become a multi-day event, leading up to what's sometimes now called Cyber Monday, marked by e-commerce sales. Despite revolving around the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday, these sale days have spread internationally. According to Statista, the United Kingdom takes Black Friday quite seriously and the average amount spent by Britons in recent years has been about £350 ($465).
As a result of the upswing in shopping, we expect to see a surge in spending in the coming days. Here are two exchange-traded funds (ETFs) to consider for those looking to benefit:
1. VanEck Vectors Video Gaming and eSports ETF
- Current Price: $63.32
- 52-Week Range: $31.00-$65.17
- Dividend Yield: 0.13%
- Expense Ratio: 0.55%
The VanEck Vectors Video Gaming and eSports ETF (NYSE:ESPO) provides exposure to businesses that are part of the video game development, eSports, and related hardware and software space.
Statista provides context about how the holiday shopping season influences the gaming and eSports market, explaining:
"Video game sales are extremely seasonal. According to the NPD Group, video game spending usually peaks in November and December, with monthly sales that are often more than three times as high as they are during the rest of the year."
Metrics from Newzoo adds,
"Global esports revenues will grow to $1.1 billion in 2020, a year-on-year growth of +15.7%, up from $950.6 million in 2019. Thus, the Street expects many businesses in the sector to do well during the Black Friday shopping spree."
We previously discussed the segment and introduced two other funds, namely the Global X Video Games & Esports ETF (NASDAQ:HERO) the Roundhill BITKRAFT Esports & Digital Entertainment ETF (NYSE:NERD).
With ESPO, we provide yet another ETF to consider. The fund holds 25 stocks. It started trading in October 2018 and has $617 million under management.
Around 34.18% of the firms are based in the U.S., followed by Japan (23.68%), China (20.06%), Taiwan (8.49%), South Korea (5.84%) among others.
Communication Services (76.9%), Information Technology (17.9%) and Consumer Discretionary (5.3%) are the three sectors represented in the fund.
Over 61% of the fund's weighting is represented by its top ten stocks: China-based tech giant Tencent (OTC:TCEHY), Santa Clara, California-headquartered semiconductor darling NVIDIA (NASDAQ:NVDA), Singapore-based Sea (NYSE:SE) whose platforms cover digital entertainment, e-commerce, and digital financial services, Japan-headquartered entertainment and gaming group Nintendo (OTC:NTDOY) and another Santa Clara, California-based chip company Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ:AMD) lead the names in ESPO.
Since the start of the year, the fund is up over 65% and hit a record high of $65.17 in early November. Those investors who believe this corner of the industry represents a long-term opportunity could consider buying the dips, especially if the price goes below $60.
2. SPDR® S&P Retail ETF
- Current Price: $60.79
- 52-Week Range: $26.29 - $60.90
- Dividend Yield: 1.11%
- Expense Ratio: 0.35%
SPDR® S&P Retail ETF (NYSE:XRT) is worth keeping on your shopping list as it offers access to a broad mix of retail businesses. The fund started trading in 2006 and has around $570 million under management.
XRT has climbed by 31% in 2020 and hit an all-time high of $60.90 yesterday, Nov. 24, 2020. Omnichannel advertising platform Magnite (NASDAQ:MGNI), video game and consumer electronics retailer GameStop (NYSE:GME) and jewelry retailer Signet (NYSE:SIG) lead the businesses in XRT.
Since XRT's top10 stocks make up just 17.80% of its total weighting, no single stock can significantly influence the fund. It is worth noting that 100% of the firms in the fund are based in the U.S.
While XRT has demonstrated growth in 2020, and stands to benefit from the increase in shopping this holiday season, investors should also keep in mind that the fund just hit an all-time high. As such, consider if now is the best time to buy.