The e-commerce scene has faced considerable challenges in recent years. With an inflation-hit consumer inclined to put their wallets away when it comes to bigger-ticket discretionary items, e-commerce firms have had to ride out the harsh waves in recent quarters.
With the first (of potentially many) Fed rate cuts likely just months away, consumers may feel just a bit better about pulling the trigger on the pricier purchases they may have postponed. Indeed, the anticipation of lower rates alone can be a powerful thing.
In any case, I view the broader basket of e-commerce stocks as intriguing value buys now that they’re in a tough spot with relatively muted expectations ahead of them. Who knows? Maybe in a few years, when the days of inflation and high interest rates fall into the rearview, the e-commerce names may benefit from a potential return of a so-called “roaring 20s” type of environment.
Here are three top e-commerce picks for investors looking to play a multi-year recovery in e-tail spending.
Amazon (AMZN)
Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) is the Magnificent Seven e-commerce firm that may very well be the best bargain of the batch right now. With a record-breaking Prime Day now in the books, questions linger as to whether deal-hungry consumers will follow up the extravagant two-day sale with more historic sales come Black Friday and Boxing Day 2024.
Either way, the strong Prime Day is a very encouraging sign that the consumer may finally feel better about splurging again. Additionally, as prices come down across various goods, perhaps the second half of 2024 will see e-commerce make its big comeback.
Consumer spending aside, Amazon is also doing a pretty good job of making up for lost time on AI. With its Metis large language model, a product that’s supposedly “more powerful” than ChatGPT, on the horizon (will this AI be a part of that big Alexa LLM upgrade?), perhaps the Echo device will finally be able to make strides to hit its customer lifetime value (CLV).
PDD Holdings (PDD)
With less disposable income in personal balance sheets, you can bet that the average consumer is going to be more selective with how they spend their money. When costs of living soar, every dollar needs to go that much further.
When it comes to heavy discounts in the world of e-tail, it’s tough to top the wildly popular phenomenon known as Temu, a Chinese firm owned by PDD Holdings (NASDAQ:PDD), formerly known as Pinduoduo.
Sure, the quality of Temu goods may not be the best in the world. However, when it comes to price, it’s virtually impossible for anybody else to stay remotely competitive. As Temu continues getting consumers hooked on shopping on its platform via gamified rewards (think Fishland, Coin Spin, and Card Flip) while continuing to make noise on popular social media platforms, I don’t see PDD stock slowing down anytime soon.
PDD is the king of low-cost goods, and it seems well-equipped to fare well as the sting of last year’s inflationary surge remains. Also, at 17.1 times trailing price-to-earnings (P/E), there does not seem to be much in the way of expectations baked in.
Etsy (ETSY)
Etsy (NASDAQ:ETSY) has been much tougher sledding than two other two e-commerce juggernauts in this piece. The stock is down 20% year to date and more than 77% from its all-time high. Indeed, fans of the platform may find it worthwhile to pick up a few shares while it’s in a historic funk. That said, at 29.7 times trailing P/E, shares still aren’t as cheap as you’d think, given the magnitude of the decline.
Further, the company’s reputation as a seller of handmade and vintage goods may have taken a hit with the number of merchants who sell mass-produced products, some of which you may find on Temu on the Etsy platform.
In any case, Etsy’s latest policy update, which aims to reclassify items by various categories, including “made by” and “designed by,” is encouraging and could help Etsy regain the handcrafted, vintage vibes that made it so great to begin with. If Etsy can regain its strong footing in handmade crafts, ETSY stock could have miles to gain.
On the date of publication, Joey Frenette held a long position in Amazon. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines.
On the date of publication, the responsible editor held a long position in AMZN.