Shopping On Mobile Devices Set To Surge In Canada During Holidays

In our last blog, we revisited the topic of online shopping and highlighted just how popular it is – especially every holiday season. And with each new holiday season, online shopping becomes more popular than the year before. However, as Ebates.ca points out via Newswire.ca, shopping using mobile devices is getting bigger than ever. In fact, 58 percent of mobile shoppers say that they have increased their mobile spending from a year ago.

This statistic comes courtesy of a recent online shopping poll conducted by Ebates.ca. Sari Friedman is the site’s director of marketing. “We\’re seeing a shift in Canadians\’ online shopping habits, with an increase in consumers using their mobile phones as part of their overall shopping experience,” she is quoted as saying, “The survey results indicate an increased confidence in, and desire for, the \’next level\’ convenience that mobile shopping offers.”

The survey results also strongly suggest that retailers revamp their websites, if necessary, to ensure that they are mobile-friendly. Needless to say, mobile devices such as smartphones, tablets and laptops are very regularly used. With easy-to-access websites enabling users to make purchases, retailers stand the chance of significantly boosting sales via their e-commerce channels. This will be especially noticeable during the approaching holiday shopping season.

The Ebates.ca shopping poll has discovered a number of Canadian online shopping trends. 36 percent of respondents revealed that they have made purchases via mobile shopping during the times when they are actually out physically shopping. These individuals indicate that they actually prefer doing their own research about products and services online over asking salespeople in stores any questions.

It should come as no surprise that the Ebates.ca poll also found that our younger generation makes up the majority of mobile shoppers. In fact, half of millenials have made mobile purchases over the past year. The most popular purchases are music, movies and books (55 percent), clothing and accessories (54 percent), electronics (51 percent), and cosmetics, health and beauty (32 percent).

Even when Canadians aren’t using their mobile devices to make purchases, they are still widely used as parts of the overall shopping process. Shoppers use them to go online to browse products, compare prices, look for bargains and read product reviews. “And while finding the best price is the number one reason people shop via mobile, ease of transaction and a good overall experience round out the top three considerations,” reads Newswire.ca.

At Canadian POS Corporation, we have long championed the concept of e-commerce for Canadian retailers. There is no question that allowing customers to make purchases online is simply good for business. As Newswire.ca points out, the Ebates.ca poll “underscores the need for Canadian retailers who haven\’t already done so to up their mobile game if they want to capitalize on the increasing trend in mobile shopping.”

For more information about how to take advantage of our e-commerce solution, call Canadian POS Corporation at 1-877-748-2884 or email us at info@localhost.