With more consumers turning to online shopping avenues, investors may capitalize on the growing trend through a targeted internet retail or e-commerce exchange traded fund.
The Amplify Online Retail ETF (NasdaqGM: IBUY), which began trading April 20, tries to track the performance of the EQM Online Retail Index, which is comprised of global companies that generate at least 70% of revenue from online or virtual sales.
Amplify Investments believes that the companies with significant online retail revenues may be best positioned to capitalize on growth in online retail sales and shoppers, compared to companies with less significant online retail revenues.
Related: ETFs to Follow Growth of Amazon and E-Commerce
For instance, the internet retail sub-industry revealed the highest earnings growth at 143.1% for all 13 retail sub-industries, according to FactSet. In contrast, the department store sub-industry reported the largest year-over-year drop in earnings of all 13 retail sub-industries at -47.8%.
According to the US Department of Commerce’s April 2016 report on Advance Retail Sales, department store sales fell 1.7 percent year-over-year while non-store or online retailers grew sales 10.7 percent year-over-year.
[related_stories]Since 1999, online sales have grown at 20% compound annual growth rate while brick-and-mortar stores have actually seen sales dip. According to the US Department of Commerce’s latest quarterly retail e-commerce report, 7.5% of all U.S. retail sales are being done via e-commerce, so the industry has a lot of room to grow.
IBUY provides exposure to many familiar online names, such as WayFair Inc (NYSE: W) 3.3%, Etsy (NasdaqGS: ETSY) 3.2%, FTD Companies (NasdaqGS: FTD) 3.2%, Overstock Com Inc (NasdaqGS: OSTK) 3.2% and Priceline (NasdaqGS: PCLN) 3.2%.
Related: Be Careful Shopping With Amazon, Home Depot, Wal-Mart
The ETF also includes a number of companies based outside the U.S. like Alibaba (NYSE: BABA) 1.3% and JD.com (NasdaqGS: JD) 1.4%.
Regional weights include North America 79.5%, Europe 6.5%, Japan 3.7% and emerging Asia 10.3%.
For more information on the retail sector, visit our retail category.