Despite the inflationary pressures placed on consumers this year, it’s looking to be a good holiday season for e-commerce spending, according to VettaFi’s associate director of research Roxanna Islam.
“Consumers are finally ready to spend this year,” Islam said on TD Ameritrade’s Market on Close with Oliver Renick, adding that surveys are saying that consumers plan to spend “more or the same as last year.”
Considering the current environment, this makes sense. This is one of the first holiday seasons in years where there weren’t lockdowns, closures, or cancelations of celebrations. “So, people are looking to spend and to really celebrate the holidays this season,” Islam said.
While e-commerce has fallen out of favor with some investors, economic conditions are supporting a comeback for the sector. Revenue from retail e-commerce in the U.S. is estimated to be about $905 billion in 2022, according to the Statista Digital Market Outlook. By 2027, Statista forecasts online shopping revenue in the U.S. to exceed $1.7 trillion.
The expected increase in e-commerce spending this holiday season is bound to have an impact on the Neuberger Berman Connected Consumer ETF (NBCC ), which targets companies that demonstrate significant growth potential from connectivity-based consumerism.
“Retailers need to reimagine their technology or business model to connect with the Gen Y and Gen Z consumers,” said John Aguilar, senior vice president and head of U.S. intermediary marketing at Neuberger Berman. “How are companies reimagining themselves to future-proof their business to connect with that digitally native cohort?”
Launched in April, NBCC spans a broad range of industries globally and may invest in companies of any market cap. The team will evaluate the web search and spending tendencies of millions of consumers and the daily call transcripts and filings of over 4,000 public companies to identify the best opportunities for mass adoption in the digital age. NBCC is managed by Kevin McCarthy, John San Marco, Kai Cui, Timothy Creedon, and Hari Ramanan.
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