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The holiday season kicked off on Thanksgiving Day, and now it’s time for Black Friday — one of the busiest shopping days of the year. Retailers are splurging on early promotions and discounts as well as free shipping on online purchases to lure customers.

The attractive offers would boost retail sales and lead to a surge in stock prices in the days to follow. While an individual stock is a great option to tap the Black Friday deals in the investment world, a basket approach through ETFs is diversified and more cost-effective at lower risk. Investors should stock up ETFs like Amplify Online Retail ETF (IBUY - Free Report), SPDR S&P Retail ETF (XRT - Free Report), VanEck Vectors Retail ETF (RTH - Free Report), and ProShares Online Retail ETF (ONLN - Free Report) this weekend.

According to the National Retail Federation (“NRF”), about 166.3 million Americans are expected to shop either in-store or online during the Thanksgiving weekend (spanning five days from Thanksgiving Day through Cyber Monday), up almost 8 million from last year and the highest since NRF began tracking this data in 2017. Of them, 32.9 million plan to shop on Thanksgiving Day, 114.9 million on Black Friday, 60.4 million on Small Business Saturday, 31.4 million on Sunday and 63.9 million on Cyber Monday.

Black Friday continues to be the most popular day to shop, with 69% planning to shop then, followed by 38% on Cyber Monday. Among the Black Friday shoppers, 67% say they are likely to shop in stores, up from 64% in 2021. About 38% (63.9 million) of all weekend shoppers plan to shop on Cyber Monday.

Retailers on a Roll

The Black Friday online sales bonanza is in full swing as a number of retailers had already perked up their deals several weeks before. We have highlighted some of the best deals from:

Amazon (AMZN - Free Report) kicked off the 48-hour Black Friday deal on Nov 24 with big discounts on all kinds of products, from smart TVs to furniture, fashion, beauty, and much more. Some of the best deals include 50% off on Fire TV Sticks, up to 68% off on Echo speakers, over 50% off on popular gaming headsets, up to 70% off on the books and up to 20% off on Leesa and Casper mattresses. The online retailer is offering heavy discounts on top brands like Adidas, Savage x Fenty, Apple and Beats by Dre.

Apple (AAPL - Free Report) started the Black Friday shopping event on Nov 25 that runs through Nov 28. The company is offering the best prices of the year on the latest 2nd-gen AirPods Pro, Apple Watch Series 8, certain iPads and Mac laptops, Beats headphones, and even the Apple Watch Ultra. Apple AirPods Pro 2 is available at the lowest price ever at $199.99 (normal price $249).

Wal-Mart (WMT - Free Report), the world's largest retailer, kicked off its final Black Friday deals and the third round of its holiday sales event on Nov 21 online and Nov 25 in stores. This includes discounts on consoles, smart TVs, kitchenware, small appliances, toys, and everything in between just in time for holiday shopping.

Target (TGT - Free Report) started Black Friday sale in stores and online on Nov 20 which will end on Nov 26. The company is offering up to 50% off on new and trending items for gifting and gathering, along with everyday essentials and more. Top deals for Nov 24-26 include 40% off on boots and outerwear for the family, apparel basics starting as low as $3, matching sleepwear pants and tees starting at $7, $60 off on Beats Studio Buds, 20% off on Kinetic Sand and 30% off on jewelry.

Best Buy's (BBY - Free Report) official Black Friday sales event started on Nov 20, with deals on smart TVs, laptops, gaming consoles, smart home products, electronic scooters, and more leading up to Nov 25.

ETFs to Shop

Below, we have highlighted the ETFs in detail.

Amplify Online Retail ETF (IBUY)

Amplify Online Retail ETF offers global exposure to companies that derive 70% or more revenues from online and virtual retail by tracking the EQM Online Retail Index. IBUY holds 58 stocks in its basket, with none accounting for more than 2.8% of assets. Amplify Online Retail ETF has the largest allocation in marketplace at 45% and traditional retail at 44%.

Amplify Online Retail ETF has attracted $190.2 million in its asset base and charges 65 bps in annual fees. IBUY trades in an average daily volume of 33,000 shares.

SPDR S&P Retail ETF (XRT)

SPDR S&P Retail ETF tracks the S&P Retail Select Industry Index, which provides exposure across large, mid and small-cap stocks. It holds well-diversified 97 stocks in its basket, with none making up for more than 1.7% share. SPDR S&P Retail ETF is well spread across various industries with a double-digit allocation each in apparel retail, specialty stores, automotive retail, and Internet & direct marketing retail.

SPDR S&P Retail ETF is the largest and most popular in the retail space, with AUM of $504.6 million and an average trading volume of 4.5 million shares. It charges 35 bps in annual fees and has a Zacks ETF Rank #2 (Buy) with a Medium risk outlook.

VanEck Vectors Retail ETF (RTH)

VanEck Vectors Retail ETF provides exposure to the 25 largest retail firms by tracking the MVIS US Listed Retail 25 Index, which measures the performance of the companies involved in retail distribution, wholesalers, online, direct mail and TV retailers, multi-line retailers, specialty retailers and food and other staples retailers. VanEck Vectors Retail ETF is highly concentrated on the top firm with double-digit exposure, while the other firms hold no more than 10% share.

VanEck Vectors Retail ETF has amassed $156.3 million in its asset base and charges 35 bps in annual fees. It trades in a lower volume of 12,000 shares a day on average. VanEck Vectors Retail ETF has a Zacks ETF Rank #2 with a Medium risk outlook.

ProShares Online Retail ETF (ONLN)

ProShares Online Retail ETF offers exposure to the company that principally sells online or through other non-store channels, and then zeros in on the companies reshaping the retail space. It tracks the ProShares Online Retail Index, holding 25 stocks in its basket. ONLN is highly concentrated on the top two firms, while the other firms hold no more than 8% of assets. American firms make up 69.6% of the portfolio, while Chinese firms account for 21.2% share.

ProShares Online Retail ETF has accumulated $116.3 million in its asset base and charges 58 bps in annual fees. ONLN trades in an average daily volume of 114,000 shares.

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