By John Mauldin via Iris.xyz
Late last year, the company overtook Apple to became the third-largest online retailer in the US. Only Amazon and eBay are larger.
Walmart is quickly growing its online presence by scooping up smaller online retailers like Jet.com, which sells everything from laptops to sunscreen—often at a healthy discount.
Walmart bought Jet in 2016 for $3.3 billion. Since then, Walmart’s online sales have shot up 78%—from $13.4 billion to $23.8 billion.
And it shows no sign of slowing down. Last quarter, Walmart’s online sales grew by 43%.
We all know that Amazon is the online retail behemoth. But Walmart’s online sale are growing much faster: 40% in 2018 compared to 13% for Amazon.
And, as I’ll explain shortly, buying shares of Walmart is a great way for risk-averse income investors to play the online shopping trend.
The Online Shopping Boom Is Just Starting
We all buy a lot of stuff online these days. But the fact is, online shopping is still in its infancy.
In the last 12 months, US online sales hit $527 billion. Sounds like a lot, but it’s still only 10% of total US retail sales. So the runway for growth is still very long here.
In the next five years, US online sales are expected to grow over 50%. By 2024, they’re expected to make up 13% of total retail sales.
Read the full article at Iris.xyz
