Taking A Look At Canada’s Love For Online Shopping

As a Canadian business owner, it’s really important that you understand the Canadian marketplace. You shouldn’t just have a firm grasp on what it is the members of your customer base like to buy. You should also be well aware of how the members of your customer base like to make their purchases.

The physical brick-and-mortar store isn’t likely to go anywhere. But it certainly has a lot of competition in the online store. This is why it’s vitally important to have a website equipped with the ability to sell directly to your customers. Don’t just take it from us. The statistics show that Canadian shoppers love to go online to make their purchases.

Every year, Canadians increase their spending online.

According to Opstart.ca, Canadians spent $19.2 billion on internet purchases in 2016. Just five years prior, that number was $6.6 billion. We’re talking about a $12.6 billion leap! That’s nearly triple the amount of annual online purchases being made by Canadians in a five-year span. “Now, internet retail is more popular than ever,” says the website, “So you can expect spending to increase. When you look at the big picture, it’s not such a long shot.”

It should come as no surprise to you that online shopping always sees a major spike during the holiday season. Because shopping malls are so busy, many Canadians take to the internet in order to avoid long line ups, hard-to-find parking spaces and crowded retail locations. The problem, however, is that there are too few Canadian retailers who are helping the local members of their customer bases to avoid such issues.

Canadian shoppers feel forced to support foreign companies.

“Almost 50 percent of Canadian online shoppers are buying from foreign sites,” informs Opstart.ca, “Why? The Internet allows shoppers to choose from retailers all over the world, and foreign sites are offering a wider variety of products…If Canadians had the variety and merchandise available, they would be more likely to purchase their products from retailers in their home country. Items shipped internationally are riskier for buyers and take longer to arrive.”

The bottom line is that Canadian consumers want to support you. It’s not only more secure to buy from a domestic retailer, but it’s helpful for the Canadian economy to do so. By not offering your products online, you run the risk of having people who live close to your business location go elsewhere to buy the exact same products that you have available in your store.

An online store opens your company up to a larger customer base.

Let’s not forget that it works both ways! When you sell your products online, you don’t just encourage local shoppers to make purchases from your website – you also inspire consumers from all over the world to buy your products. Having an online store effectively turns your business into a 24/7 entity with a customer base that spans the globe!

At Canadian POS Corporation, we offer an e-commerce solution that gives Canadian business owners everything they need to safely and securely accept all credit cards online. With our e-commerce solution, you will have secure real-time transaction processing and advanced risk management tools that protect your online business from fraud.

For more information, please don’t hesitate to call Canadian POS Corporation at 1-877-748-2884 or email us at info@localhost.