Asset allocation model
E-COMMERCE SECTOR

The Internet has fundamentally altered not only the ways we connect with other people, but how we do business. In many ways, e-commerce has been among the most revolutionary changes brought by the rise of the World Wide Web. Shopping online has had very real, well-detailed consequences for brick-and-mortar retailers, many of whom have been unable to compete with the speed and ease of online e-commerce outlets. Investors that haven’t been paying attention certainly will now that e-commerce makes up around 10% of all U.S. retail revenue (and growing).The e-commerce sector can be divided into multiple categories: direct sellers (who own inventory and sell goods directly to customers); marketplaces (platforms that connect buyers and sellers); software providers (whose software manages sales, inventory, and more); and logistics (shipping providers, like UPS and FedEx). Global expansion brought on by technology has made online shopping more accessible than ever, and reports peg the sector for even more growth. While online retail primarily describes physical retail stores offering customers the same products online as in-store, the e-commerce sector contains retailers that are based online and conduct the majority of their sales through the internet.Investors can find strong options in all four aspects of the increasingly global industry. Amazon is the undisputed king, but Chinese giants JD.com and Alibaba regularly report healthy revenues. Shopify has become a worldwide presence with their proprietary e-commerce platform, while XPO Logistics is a top 10 worldwide transportation and logistics provider.