The 3 Best Retail Stocks to Buy in March

While technology gets all the headlines, the retail space can still be a good place to find attractive stocks. Although not always as exciting as the tech sector, there are companies in the space with solid long-term growth potential.

Let's look at three retail stocks to buy this month.

Image source: Getty Images.

1. Amazon

Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) is a great combination of an e-commerce retailer and a tech company through its Amazon Web Services (AWS) cloud computing unit. The company is the largest e-commerce operator in the world, and it has built a wide moat through its far-reaching logistics network.

The company's e-commerce operations continue to see solid growth, but the most intriguing part of the Amazon story is the operating leverage it is seeing in this business. After years of building out its logistics and fulfillment network, the company is now using artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics to make it more efficient.

Amazon is actually the largest operator and manufacturer of robots in the world and now deploys more than 1 million in its warehouses, all coordinated by its DeepFleet AI model. This operating leverage could be seen in the fourth quarter, when its North American operating income climbed 24% on a 10% increase in sales.

At the same time, Amazon is seeing strong growth from AWS. AWS revenue accelerated to 24% growth last quarter, and that strong growth should continue as it ramps up its capital expenditures (capex) for 2026 to increase its data center capacity. Given the operating leverage it is seeing in its e-commerce business and growth at AWS, this is a stock to buy.

2. MercadoLibre

Often considered the Amazon of Latin America (the U.S. company, not the South American rainforest), MercadoLibre (NASDAQ: MELI) is one of the most under-the-radar retail growth stories. The company has grown its revenue by 30% or more every quarter for about the past seven years, including by 45% last quarter.

The company has a logistics edge over Amazon in Latin America, and has been attracting more and more consumers to its platform as it invests in free shipping. Meanwhile, it's also taken a page out of Amazon's book and is using AI to drive ad revenue growth tied to its platform. It's also using AI to help its salesforce bring more high-value third-party merchants to its platform.

While MercadoLibre doesn't have a cloud computing business like Amazon, its fintech business has been another big growth driver. It's transformed Mercado Pago from a checkout tool to a full-fledged financial service platform that can help serve the large unbanked population of South America. Its monthly active users continue to climb, as do its assets under management, credit card users, and payment volumes.

With MercadoLibre stock down on the year due to the company being in investment mode, I've been scooping up shares here.

3. Chewy

Chewy (NYSE: CHWY) is one of the most intriguing names in retail in my view. The company offers a solid combination of growth and operating leverage with a very defensive business model. However, with the stock trading at a forward price-to-earnings ratio (P/E) of 16.5 times analyst estimates, it is currently getting very little credit in the market for this.

Chewy's defensive nature comes from the fact that the bulk of its sales are from pet food and other pet necessities that are autoshipped. More than 80% of its sales come from customers who use its autoship program (although this does include non-autoshipped sales). These are loyal customers who, on average, spend nearly $600 a year with the retailer. Meanwhile, revenue growth has been strong, with sales climbing by 8.4% through the first nine months of its fiscal year.

At the same time, Chewy has been working to expand its gross margins. Like both Amazon and MercadoLibre, Chewy is seeing strong growth in its higher-margin ad business. It has also introduced a new paid membership program and has been expanding into other higher-margin areas like private-label pet food and pet medicine.

Between its valuation, growth, and operating leverage, this is a solid stock to buy for the long term.

Geoffrey Seiler has positions in Amazon, Chewy, and MercadoLibre. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Amazon, Chewy, and MercadoLibre. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.