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The holiday season started with a big bang with a large number of Americans turning online as the number of coronavirus cases is rising. This is especially true as Thanksgiving online shopping hit a record $5.1 billion, up 21.5% from the last year, per Adobe Analytics data. Consumer spending increased 21.4% on Thanksgiving Day compared to last year's $4.2 billion, while almost half of the online purchases were made on smartphones on Thanksgiving Day. Black Friday online sales surged 22% to a record $9 billion.

On Black Friday, Adobe Analytics found out that consumers spent $6.3 million per minute online, or $27.50 per person, on average. Spending on smartphones surged 25.3% year over year to reach $3.6 billion, representing 40% of total e-commerce spending.

The solid trend is likely to continue with Cyber Monday expected to become the biggest digital sales day in history, with spending between $10.8 billion and $12.7 billion. This represents growth of 15-35% from the year-ago level. The e-marketer projects Cyber Monday to bring in about $12.9 billion in e-commerce sales, up 38.3% year over year.

Hot Retailers

Online behemoth Amazon.com (AMZN - Free Report), which captured about one-third of online sales on Cyber Monday last year, remained the hottest retailer. The company kicked off Cyber Monday deals on Nov 28, which will continue through Nov 30, with amazing deals not only on their own line of smart devices, apparel, and home products but also on purchases from small businesses as well, including Amazon Launchpad and Amazon Handmade retailers.

Like Black Friday, the company is offering shoppers 20% off or more on select gift card brands, including Gap, H&M, Petco, and more from Nov 26-30. Plus, it is offering up to 40% off of Jabra headphones, up to 20% off the Samsung 32-inch 4K Q50 Smart TV and 40% off on select video games. The stock has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) and a VGM Score of B.

Brick-and-mortar chains have also become aggressive in chasing online customers. Wal-Mart (WMT) will kick off its Cyber Monday sales at midnight on Nov 30 and include the biggest and best Cyber Monday savings to date. The retailer is offering thousands of products, including Dyson vacuums, Google Nest, and Apple AirPods, at discounted prices with markdowns as high as 70% off. Walmart has a Zacks Rank #3 and VGM Score of A.

Target (TGT) launched its “largest-ever” Cyber Week, starting Nov 29 to Dec 5, and Cyber Monday deals with two new digital "Flash Sales." These limited-time-only offers will give guests a chance to score some of the lowest prices of the season on dozens of items. Cyber Week deals includes deep discounts on key categories and top items within electronics, toys, home décor, apparel, everyday essentials, and more. Some of the hottest deals for the full cyber week are buy 2, get 1 free on Disney toys, and up to 40% off select Lego products.

Best Buy’s (BBY) Cyber Week deals began on Nov 28 and will be valid for a week with big savings on laptops, headphones, TVs, and more tech, plus deals on home appliances like robot vacuums and air fryers. The best deals include a 50-inch 4K TV for just $299.99, the Beats Solo Pro headphones marked down to $169.99, and Lenovo Chromebook Duet Tablet for just $249.

Meanwhile, department store Macy’s (M) Cyber Monday sale is live and will continue until Nov 30 with huge savings on categories, including home furniture, apparel, electronics, appliances, and more. Plus, the retailer is offering to save an extra 10% or 20% on reduced and clearance merchandise using the promo code "CYBER."

Target and Best Buy have a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) and a VGM Score of A, while Macy’s has a Zacks Rank #3 and VGM Score of A.

Kohl’s (KSS) launched its Cyber Monday deals on Nov 27, which will run through five days, named Cyber Deal Days. The offers focused heavily on gadgets, toys, and smart home accessories. Kohl’s has also added more Kohl’s Cash deals, including $15 Kohl’s Cash for every $50 spent for Cyber Monday shoppers.

Several other retailers like Nordstrom (JWN), Gap (GPS), and The Home Depot (HD) are also drawing investors’ attention with sizzling deals on most products. All three retailers have Zacks Rank #3 with VGM Score of A or B.

ETFs on a Roll

While investing in any of these stocks could reward investors throughout Cyber Week, a diverse approach in a basket form can also be a great choice. For this, investors can splurge on the e-commerce corner of the broad retail/technology industry.

Some of the attractive ETF deals are Amplify Online Retail ETF (IBUY - Free Report), ProShares Online Retail ETF (ONLN - Free Report), ProShares Decline of the Retail Store ETF (EMTY - Free Report), ProShares Long Online/Short Stores ETF (CLIX - Free Report), First Trust Dow Jones Internet Index (FDN - Free Report) and PowerShares Nasdaq Internet Portfolio (PNQI - Free Report).

IBUY offers global exposure to companies that derive 70% or more revenues from online and virtual retail while ONLN is exclusively focused on retailers that principally sell online. EMTY and CLIX are designed to benefit from the changing retail landscape from physical stores to online. Meanwhile, FDN and PNQI provide exposure to the Internet space. FDN has a Zacks Rank #1 and PNQI has a Zacks ETF Rank #2.

Other ETFs like SPDR S&P Retail ETF (XRT - Free Report), VanEck Vectors Retail ETF (RTH - Free Report), S&P SmallCap Consumer Discretionary Portfolio (PSCD - Free Report), and Invesco DWA Consumer Cyclicals Momentum ETF (PEZ - Free Report) also make compelling picks. XRT and RTH target the retail sector, while PSCD and PEZ offer broad exposure to the consumer discretionary space. XRT has a Zacks ETF Rank #2 while others have a Zacks ETF Rank #3.