Canadians Prefer To Support Homegrown Businesses Online

Not only is the current holiday shopping season the busiest for brick-and-mortar store locations, but online shopping is at its highest right now as well. The Canadian POS Corporation Blog has long heralded e-commerce solutions for Canadian business owners due to the fact that Canadian consumers so love online shopping. However, as we’ve pointed out before, many Canadian merchants have not yet invested in e-commerce solutions for their businesses.

As Gary Hilson reports on ITBusiness.ca, Canadian retailers greatly benefit from Canadian online shoppers. He reveals that a recent PayPal Canada study has found that most online shoppers in Canada spend money using a “buy local” mentality. In collaboration with Ipsos, PayPal conducted a study that found that about 75 percent of Canadian shoppers planned on buying holiday gifts from online Canadian retailers instead of U.S. or international brands.

43 percent of those people, in fact, planned on buying more gifts from Canadian retailers than they did last year, says Hilson. Millennials, as you may have guessed, lead the pack of online shoppers who are looking to buy from domestic online retailers this holiday season. 83 percent of millennials surveyed said that they planned on supporting homegrown businesses while doing their holiday shopping online.

What factors are driving this trend? “More than half of respondents – 56 per cent – said they want to support local businesses and the economy,” explains Hilson, “Canada’s low dollar is also playing a role in their decision, with 44 per cent citing unfavourable exchange rates. About half also want to avoid the cost of international shipping, taxes and duties, while 32 per cent say they prefer goods that are made in Canada.”

He also points out that social media platforms have worked wonders in influencing the buying tendencies of Canadian shoppers. The study unveils the fact that social media advertisements lead to a great deal of sales. “One in four respondents had already engaged in social commerce and 54 percent said they would consider it,” says Hilson, who notes that Canadians are among the most “plugged-in social media users in the world.”

At least, this is what PayPal has discovered through its study. Canadians apparently spend an average of two hours and 19 minutes on social media each day. And because there is a growing number of “Shop Now” and “Buy” buttons on the various social media platforms, Canadians are finding it very easy to make purchases without ever leaving their social media accounts.

Social media have also helped Canadian shoppers to evaluate the various products and services that are available to them. By connecting with family members, friends and peers via social media, says Hilson, people quickly receive feedback about different brands, helping them to make well-researched buying decision.

Isn’t it time to become one of the many Canadian merchants that are supported by Canadian consumers online? For more information about the fantastic e-commerce solution available from Canadian POS Corporation, give us a call at 1-877-748-2884 or email us at info@localhost.