With the Christmas shopping spree and Boxing Day sales now behind retailers and the end-of-season clearance sales now in full swing, talk has turned to the level of sales conducted online and what short-term damage may have been done by Myer's (ASX: MYR) unfortunate website crash.
While claims of the death of bricks-and-mortar shopping may be exaggerated, there is no denying that online shopping will continue to grow quickly for years to come at the expense of many high-street retailers.
Picking the online retail winners will be a difficult task. Will it be the new entrants like ASOS or will it be the trusted brands like Myer and David Jones (ASX: DJS), or perhaps Westfield Group's (ASX: WDC) online mall concept?
While picking the online retail winners might be difficult, approaching the issue of identifying opportunities to benefit from the online shopping boom from the angle of service suppliers does suggest a number of companies that stand to gain.
Freight and logistics
Toll Holdings (ASX: TOL) is a major provider of freight and logistics services to corporations around Australia. The company is well positioned to benefit from the increase in handling of parcels into Australia as well as the movement and delivery of parcels across Australia, as online shopping sales continue to increase and require home delivery.
TZ (ASX: TZL) is a technology company that amongst other businesses runs Automated Parcel Lockers. TZ believes there is scope for the roll-out of lockers across many regions to provide a convenient way for customers to collect their online purchases.
Property Trusts
Goodman Group (ASX: GMG) has many property interests including a significant industrial property portfolio. These properties include logistics centres, warehouses and distribution centres. As online sales increase, in turn delivery of purchases will increase as well, which will require a significant enhancement of logistics capabilities.
Information Technology
Salmat (ASX: SLM) is a marketing and communications company which has expanded its service offering from the provision of hard-copy services to include online marketing, which can be used to target increased online sales penetration.
Foolish takeaway
A tailwind in investing is a wonderful thing. While some investors will look for the obvious way to position their portfolio to benefit from a trend, other investors will think outside the square and look for less obvious and potentially more rewarding investment options.
