Top ETFs for Back to School Shopping Season

Over the next few weeks, millions of students will head back off to school.

This year, consumers are expected to spend up to $41.5 billion for back to school gear, which should pass the $37.1 billion spent in 2021. Back to school college spending could hit $94 billion, about $20 billion more than last year, according to the National Retail Federation.

Also, according to Reuters, “Families with children in kindergarten through Grade 12 plan to spend $25 more per child this year, and $890.07 on average, as they pull back on other discretionary spending to cover back-to-school expenses, according to the NRF. Consumers were likely to shell out more on laptops and tablets, with the survey forecasting demand for electronics to be the highest on record.”

And, according to a new report from Deloitte, Americans are likely to shop more at discount stores than last year, the survey said, as consumers have grown choosier about where to splurge and are comparing prices.

While Target, Walmart, Amazon, and plenty of other retailers should benefit, so should ETFs, including these three.

VanEck Vectors Retail ETF (RTH)

With an expense ratio of 0.35%, the ETF tracks the performance of companies involved in retail distribution, wholesalers, on-line, direct mail and TV retailers, multi-line retailers, specialty retailers and food and other staples retailers. Two of its top holdings include Amazon (which makes up 19.86% of RTH investments), and Walmart (which makes up 8.36%). Target is on the list making up 3.56% of the portfolio holdings, too.

Amplify Online Retail ETF (IBUY)

With an expense ratio of 0.65%, the ETF tracks the performance of the EQM Online Retail Index. The Index is a globally-diverse basket of publicly-traded companies that obtain 70% or more of revenue from online or virtual sales, as noted by Amplify ETFs. Some of its top holdings include Affirm Holdings, Wayfair, BigCommerce Holdings, Amazon, and PayPal.