We recently published a list of 10 Best Internet Retail Stocks to Buy Now. In this article, we are going to take a look at where PDD Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:PDD) stands against other best internet retail stocks to buy now.

What’s Happening In The Internet Retail Sector?

According to a report published by FTI Consulting, the United States e-commerce is experiencing a revival after a period of stagnation post-COVID. After 18 months of slow growth, e-commerce sales began to pick up again in early 2023 as consumers resumed shopping habits that had been altered during the pandemic. The report notes that e-commerce sales growth represented 46% of total retail sales growth in 2023 and surged to 57% in the first quarter of 2024, marking its highest contribution since 2017, excluding pandemic spikes.

Consumers have adopted the trend of shopping online as despite the reopening of physical stores, many consumers continue to prefer online shopping. The report indicates that foot traffic in stores remains lower than pre-pandemic levels, with many Americans choosing to shop online rather than visit physical locations. This shift suggests a long-term change in consumer behavior, as evidenced by ongoing declines in in-store visits and increased e-commerce market share.

Talking about the pandemic era from 2020 to 2022 total retail sales in the United States (excluding auto and gas) increased by 31%, compared to only 12.2% from 2017 to 2019. The report suggests this translates to an additional $1.9 trillion in retail spending above pre-COVID norms. This increased spending benefited the e-commerce segment as it was able to capture 87% of the increase in total retail spending during the height of the pandemic lockdowns.

Looking forward, the United States’ e-commerce sales are projected to grow at a sustainable rate of high to mid-single digits annually. This is a significant slowdown from the mid-teens growth rates seen before COVID but still sufficient for continued market share gains against traditional retail channels.

Moreover, the report also highlighted that newcomers including Temu, Shein, and TikTok Shop are entering the US e-commerce market. These newcomers are disrupting the established players through a strategy of becoming low-cost retailers. For instance, Temu achieved $14 billion in global gross merchandise value (GMV) sales in 2023 and is targeting $30 billion for 2024. On the other hand, Shein captured 40% of the fast fashion market domestically and had an estimated global GMV of $42 billion in 2023. Moreover, TikTok Shop was launched in 2023 and is aiming for $50 billion in global e-commerce sales by 2024.

The report suggests that while these platforms may attract budget-conscious consumers, they may not significantly threaten established e-commerce giant’s dominance due to perceived differences in product quality and brand positioning.

Looking ahead as per FTI Consulting the US online retail sales are expected to hit $1.2 trillion in 2024 translating to a 9.8% increase year-over-year. Moreover, the e-commerce market share is also expected to increase from 21.6% in 2023 to 22.7% by the end of the current year.

Moreover, some of the key trends identified by the reports are a sharp increase in the closing of physical retail stores due to increased labor costs, rents, and the feasibility of selling online. In addition to this, another key trend is the use of artificial intelligence among internet retailers, which helps engage with customers more closely and enables a personalized shopping experience.

We have also covered the 7 Best E-commerce Stocks To Buy According to Hedge Funds. Here’s an excerpt from the article:

“E-commerce is growing faster than expected and as new avenues of selling online open up, companies are bound to keep up with trends and innovative strategies. According to a report by Forbes, the e-commerce industry is expected to grow to a valuation of $7.9 trillion by 2027 from $6.3 trillion in 2024. In 2027, 23% of retail purchases are expected to be made online, up from 20.1% in 2024.

In the United States, low-income households, with a yearly income of $50,000 or less, happened to spend the most on online spending compared to other groups. On October 17, Reuters reported that retail sales in September increased, as gas prices fell, allowing consumers to spend elsewhere. Overall, the average consumer in the United States spent mostly on clothing, health and personal care stores, and miscellaneous items. Amid rising consumer confidence and spending, the Atlanta Fed raised its GDP estimates for Q3 to 3.4%, up from a previous guidance of 3.2%. Overall, retail sales grew by 0.4% last month.”

Our Methodology

To compile the list of 10 best internet retail stocks to buy now we used the Finviz stock screener. Using the screener, we shortlisted the internet retail stocks by their market capitalization. Next we used Insider Monkey’s Q2 2024 hedge funds database to rank the stocks by the number of hedge fund holders. Please note that the stocks are arranged in ascending order of the number of hedge funds.

Why do we care about what hedge funds do? The reason is simple: our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Our quarterly newsletter’s strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 275% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 150 percentage points (see more details here).

PDD Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:PDD)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 86

PDD Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:PDD) is another leading e-commerce company that ranks as the 3rd best internet retail stock to buy now. It is renowned for its marketplace platforms called Pinduoduo and Temu. The company has developed a network of sellers, logistics, and other capabilities in just a decade since its establishment and is now competing with other e-commerce giants in the industry.

The competitive edge of the company comes from its business models that encompasses focusing on small and medium businesses. This model makes the product listings of the company to be comparatively cheaper than its competitors thereby attracting more customers. In the second quarter of fiscal 2024, management announced that it has reached more than 167 million monthly active customers and that around 50 million customers are based in the United States.

The company has been doing well financially. PDD Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:PDD) second quarter of fiscal 2024 revenue came in at $13.74 billion indicating an 86% growth year-over-year. The company has also developed an efficient operating model which enabled it to improve its operating profit by 156% year-over-year. The stock was held by 86 hedge funds in Q2 2024 as per Insider Monkey’s database.

Hayden Capital stated the following regarding PDD Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:PDD) in its Q2 2024 investor letter:

“PDD Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:PDD): A few weeks ago, Latepost (a leading Chinese technology news outlet) confirmed Pinduoduo’s online grocery initiative is solidly profitable (LINK). According to the article, Duoduo Grocery is able to achieve ~5% net profit margins in competitive markets (where they go up against Meituan Select). In non-competitive markets, they can achieve ~10 – 15% net margins.

The company doesn’t disclose the exact scale of Duoduo Grocery, but our calculations indicate it’s likely around ~RMB 300BN this year, and still growing in the double-digits. At that level, the division is likely contributing ~US $2.5BN in annual profits.

It’s an impressive result, but admittedly, not a huge needle-mover in light of the total $17.6BN net profits the company is expected to make this year (~14% of overall profits)…” (Click here to read the full text)

Overall, PDD ranks 3rd on our list of best internet retail stocks to buy now. While we acknowledge the potential of PDD to grow, our conviction lies in the belief that AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and doing so within a shorter timeframe. If you are looking for a promising AI stock that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock.

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Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.