How to Play Back-to-School Season With ETFs & Stocks

Core Insights - The back-to-school and college shopping season in the U.S. is experiencing a significant increase in early shopping, with 67% of shoppers starting their purchases by early July, up from 55% last year, marking the highest level since 2018 [1][2] Spending Trends - K-12 shoppers have an average budget of $295.81 for electronics, totaling $13.5 billion, $249.36 for clothing and accessories ($11.4 billion), $143.77 for school supplies ($6.6 billion), and $169.13 for shoes ($7.8 billion [3] - College students and parents are expected to spend an average of $309.50 on electronics ($20.7 billion), $191.39 on dorm furnishings ($12.28 billion), $166.07 on clothing and accessories ($11.1 billion), $140.24 on food ($9.4 billion), and $117.95 on shoes ($7.9 billion) [4] Company Insights - Costco Wholesale (COST) operates membership warehouses selling food and general merchandise at discounted prices, holding a Zacks Rank of 3 (Hold) and a VGM Score of B [5] - Lowe's Companies (LOW) is a leading home improvement retailer with a Zacks Rank of 3 and an upbeat VGM Score of A, offering essentials for back-to-campus needs [6] - Ambarella (AMBA) develops semiconductors for video compression and image processing, holding a Zacks Rank of 3 [7] - Amazon.com (AMZN) is a major e-commerce provider with a Zacks Rank of 3 [8] ETF Insights - ProShares Online Retail ETF (ONLN) tracks online retailers and charges 58 bps in fees with a yield of 0.65% annually [9] - VanEck Retail ETF (RTH) tracks the performance of various retail companies and charges 35 bps in fees with a yield of 0.70% annually [10][11] - Invesco Food & Beverage ETF (PBJ) focuses on U.S. food and beverage companies, charging 62 bps in fees with a yield of 1.68% annually [12] - VanEck Semiconductor ETF (SMH) tracks semiconductor companies and charges 35 bps in fees with a yield of 0.37% annually [13]