E-Commerce Eases Back-To-School Shopping For Canadians

It’s that time of year again! And while many students dread the final days of summer, most parents are happy that school is about to begin. What parents may not be so fond of, however, is the amount of shopping that is often required in order to prepare their children for heading back into the classroom. Between clothing, backpacks, food and school supplies, there seems to be a never-ending list of items needed for going back to school

According to an Ebates Canada survey conducted last month, a third of Canadians regard back-to-school expenses as the number one stressor related to the shopping experience. Moms tend to handle the shopping tasks a lot more than dads, says the website, courtesy of Newswire.ca. And about 45 percent of Canadian back-to-school shoppers spend upwards of $100- $200 per child. Almost a fourth of Canadians spend more than that.

What are the most popular back-to-school items? Ebates.ca reveals that outside of clothes and supplies, tablets are the most popular electronic item purchased for back-to-school with 27 percent of Canadians buying them. “Computers came in at a close second (21 percent),” reports the site. With expenses only increasing for parents shopping for their school-bound children, it stands to reason that they are becoming more diligent with their bargain-hunting ways.

Where do back-to-school shoppers go to locate the best prices? You likely won’t be surprised to discover that it’s the internet. As with most other types of shopping, the worldwide web provides consumers with the ability to compare prices and make purchases directly from company websites. 77 percent of Canadian shoppers say they research online for the best deals, notes Ebates.ca.

“These findings extend to making purchases too, as 80 per cent will be shopping online – at least in part – for their back to school needs, up by 30 per cent from last year,” the site reports, “The reason? No line-ups.” Convenience has always played a major role in the popularity of online shopping. As you can imagine, malls will be quite busy over the next couple of weeks as parents and students from all over the country engage in their back-to-school shopping rituals.

How can online back-to-school shopping be made fun? Ebates.ca recommends that parents turn it into a game. “Build a list of what the kids will need for the new school year. Let them know the rules & how much they have to spend,” the site instructs, “Search your favourite stores in teams with the parents as the team captains and jot down the prices or add to the cart. Make sure they stick to the budget by deciding which items they truly need and which they can do without.”

How important is Ebates Canada’s survey findings for Canadian retailers? In our opinion, they couldn’t be more important! The survey highlights the fact that Canadian merchants need to make use of their websites by turning them into online stores. Utilizing an effective and reliable e-commerce solution is simply good for business, whether it’s the back-to-school season or not.

At Canadian POS Corporation, we offer an effective and reliable e-commerce solution that allows Canadian merchants to take advantage of Canada’s love for online shopping. With our secure e-commerce solution, our clients are able to easily and safely accept and process all credit cards, including Visa, MasterCard, Discover and American Express from their websites! For more information, call Canadian POS Corporation at 1-877-748-2884 or email us at info@localhost.