The U.S. retail sector is in a great shape. Sales increased 0.8% sequentially in November 2017, after an upwardly revised 0.5% rise in October and breezed past market expectations of a 0.3% rise. On a year-over-year basis, retail sales rose 5.8% following 4.9% gains recorded in October.
Out of the 13 key sectors, 11 registered expansion last month. Below we recommend a few ETFs & stocks that are likely to be the prime beneficiaries of this retail sales improvement.
Non-Store Retailers
Sales at non-store retailers rose 2.5% in November following a decline of 0.4% in October. We are in the midst of the holiday season. The holiday season makes up about 20 to 40% of annual sales for many retailers. Already, Thanksgiving, Black Friday and Cyber Monday have seen a splurge in buying. Adobe predicts that “this will be the first-ever holiday season to break $100 billion in online sales.” This indicates the uptick in non-store retailing in the month of November.
Amplify Online Retail ETF IBUY
The underlying index of the fund utilizes a rule-based methodology to select a globally diversified group of companies with 70% or more sales coming online and virtually. The fund charges 65 bps in fees (read: 5 Hot ETF Deals for the Holiday Season).
PetMed Express Inc. (NASDAQ:PETS)
America's largest pet pharmacy operates through its toll-free number and on the Internet. Value, Growth, Momentum (VGM) Score is C. The stock has a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).
Electronics and Appliance
Sales for electronics and appliance shot up 2.1% following a 1.2% gain in October. In any case, Electronics has been at the top spot this holiday season. Salesforce expects Black Friday to be “the busiest digital shopping day” in the history of the United States, surpassing Cyber Monday, as the U.S. digital shopping day for the second consecutive year (read: 3 ETFs to Tap Upbeat Electronics Sales Forecast).
If this was not enough, NPD Group analyst Mat Piscatella indicated that game sales are likely to see a “nice rebound this year” from last year's unsatisfactory numbers, thanks to a host of “hot titles and new consoles.”
VanEck Vectors Semiconductor ETF SMH
Rise in electronics sales should boost semiconductor funds like SMH and iShares PHLX Semiconductor ETF SOXX (read: Tap Nvidia Growth Story With These Tech ETFs).
Conn’s Inc. (NASDAQ:CONN)
As far as stocks are concerned, investors can take a look at CONN. It sells major home appliances, including refrigerators, freezers, washers, dryers and a variety of consumer electronics. The stock has a Zacks ETF Rank #1 and a VGM Score of A. The Zacks Industry Rank is in the top 20%.
Food and Drink Places
Sales at restaurants and bars increased 0.7% versus 0.4% last month. This positions the following fund and stock better.
PowerShares Dynamic Food & Beverage Portfolio PBJ
The fund looks to track the Dynamic Food & Beverage IntellidexSM Index. Sysco Corp (NYSE:SYY), Hershey Co, Tyson Foods (NYSE:TSN), Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) and PepsiCo (NYSE:PEP) take the top five spots. The fund charges 59 bps in fees.
Famous Dave’s of America Inc. (NASDAQ:DAVE)
The company operates and franchises barbeque restaurants and blues clubs.The fund has a Zacks Rank #1. The VGM Score is B.
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PetMed Express, Inc. (PETS): Free Stock Analysis Report
ISHARS-PHLX SEM (SOXX): ETF Research Reports
VANECK-SEMICON (SMH): ETF Research Reports
AMPL-ONLN RETL (IBUY): ETF Research Reports
PWRSH-DYN FD&BV (PBJ): ETF Research Reports
Conn's, Inc. (CONN): Free Stock Analysis Report
Famous Dave's of America, Inc. (DAVE): Free Stock Analysis Report
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