This Fast-Growing REIT Is One of My Favorite Retail Investments For 2020

With all the bankruptcies and other ongoing negativity surrounding brick-and-mortar stores the last few years, sometimes it's easy to forget that digital has not, in fact, taken over. On the contrary, while e-commerce is still a double-digit growth industry, digital retail sales made up just 13% of total U.S. retail sales in 2019 (excluding gas stations) according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Let's remember that even Amazon has begun to view the physical store format as a viable option.

With all the negativity not exactly pairing with reality, I see value in commercial REITs (real estate investment trusts), which are one of my favorite ways to invest in retail right now. Specifically, STORE Capital (NYSE: STOR) and its 3.8% dividend yield has my attention.

STORE (an acronym for single tenant operational real estate) owns and invests in net lease properties with a single tenant, primarily in the service segment of the retail industry. There were 2,417 properties in the company's portfolio at the end of the third quarter of 2019 -- with an industry-topping 99.7% occupation rate -- with tenants including restaurants, furniture stores, early childhood education centers, gyms, and theaters.

Source Fool.com