Shopping Habits of Canadians Revealed - New Survey Signals Lucrative Market Opportunities for U.S. Retailers
TORONTO - June 14, 2006 - Results from a recent survey by J.C. Williams Group, Multi-Channel Retailing: Canadian Style, provide revealing insights into the shopping habits of Canadians and real opportunity for retailers wanting to expand internationally. According to the study, Canadians are embracing E-commerce as a shopping channel and using the Internet and catalog to conduct product research. The data also shows Canadian shopping behaviour is similar to Americans, enabling U.S. retailers to leverage existing retail and marketing strategies and modify them for the Canadian market. The vanishing "border" is signaling a wealth of opportunities.
Multi-Channel Behaviour Integral to Purchasing Decisions
The study, co-sponsored by Canada Post, HP Canada and Visa Canada, found that Canadian online shoppers are also receiving more catalogs. There was a 14 percent increase in the number of catalogs they received between 2004 and 2005. More than one out of seven purchased in-store after having received a catalog and as high as 83 percent researched online prior to buying in-store. Frequent catalog recipients reported the highest levels of online spending, indicating that cross-marketing leveraging both the web and catalogs can translate into higher overall sales amongst Canadians.
"U.S. Retailers who are considering expanding into Canada have an extraordinary opportunity to grab hold of a rapidly expanding market," said Pat Bartlett, vice president of Canada Post's direct marketing division. "The study clearly shows that Canadians are savvy consumers whose lifestyle behavior demands multiple channels to shop and a breadth of brands to choose from. In our experience of working with leading U.S. retailers in Canada, as much as a 28 %percent lift in sales can be achieved by using existing catalogs, websites and order management systems to market to Canadian consumers. The caveat is to localize the shopping experience so that it's relevant to them."
Satisfaction Key to E-commerce Growth
The survey of 2,000 online Canadians shows an average of (CDN) $447 was spent by online shoppers in the past six months with 80 percent making two or more purchases online. To ensure repeat purchases from Canadians, improved product selection, superior customer service, and guaranteed merchandise return methods are essential in providing a satisfying customer experience.
"Almost nine out of ten consumers surveyed who shop online are satisfied with their experience," says Ralph McNeil, vice president, Consumer Marketing, HP Canada. "And HP understands that integral to that satisfaction is choice. HP Canada not only offers consumers the choice to shop online via hpshopping.ca, but also works with our retail partners to create a great shopping experience on their web sites by making rich product content available to them, enabling informed and easy purchasing decisions."
Enhancing Online Security Reduces Barriers
One of the main barriers to E-commerce remains concern over security. Online Canadians who had not shopped on the Internet indicated that the security of their credit card and personal information is critically important, and some are still uneasy about providing this information over the Internet.
According to Mike Bradley, vice president of New Products and Platforms at Visa Canada, "over one-half of online purchases in Canada are completed using a Visa® card, and we are committed to enhancing payment security and facilitating continued E-commerce growth. Visa offers multiple layers of protection because Canadians are more confident shopping online with merchants that use the latest security measures to protect themselves and their customers."
Bradley believes that by offering enhanced Visa security features to both in-store and online consumers through programs like Verified by Visa®, chip cards, neural networks and CVV2 or the three-digit code, merchants ultimately provide consumers with added peace of mind.
Mainstream Shoppers to Fuel Future Growth
Leading the way in online shopping are women, representing 55 percent of Canadians purchasing through the Internet. Also, the percent of Canadians buying online is almost equal across age groups between 25 and 64, demonstrating a tremendous opportunity with such widespread penetration.
"In order to sustain high growth rates, it is important for us to observe E-commerce buying behavior among mainstream Canadian shoppers, especially the female head of household," says Jim Okamura, Senior Partner at J.C. Williams Group. "Retailers in Canada need to provide more than merely store locators on their websites. They need to leverage their multi-channel capabilities through catalogs, the Internet and stores by providing solutions and tools for shoppers."
About the Study
During the week of April 10th 2006, two thousand web-enabled Canadian consumers representative of both online buyers and non-buyers were surveyed for Multi-Channel Shopping: Canadian Style. The margin of error is plus or minus 2.6 percentage points.
About J.C. Williams Group
Founded in 1974 J.C. Williams Group (www.jcwg.com) works actively with all aspects of retail and related industries throughout North America, Europe, and Asia. The J.C. Williams Group has gained recognition in the fields of strategic marketing, branding, multi-channel strategy and custom retail research. A full-service retail and marketing consulting firm with offices in Toronto, Montréal, and Chicago, J.C. Williams Group brings its clients a collective and exceptional in-depth knowledge of retailing and marketing, including up-to date know-how and techniques to help make retail operations better and more profitable.
About Canada Post Borderfree
Based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada Post Borderfree is a strategic partner in market expansion, offering expert solutions that enable multi-channel retailers to replicate their domestic consumer shopping experience, enter new markets seamlessly, and achieve business growth. Canada Post Borderfree believes that the catalyst to success in market expansion hinges on an alchemy of intuitive marketing, simple but scaleable technology and proven logistics. Canada Post Borderfree partners feel confident that their relationship is backed by the credibility and network of Canada Post Corporation. With proven technology and unparalleled market intelligence, Canada Post Borderfree has helped leading US retailers, such as LL Bean, Brookstone, Lands' End, Puma, and Sephora, achieve success in new markets since 1999. Visit www.borderfree.net for more information.
- Copyright 2007 Canada Post Borderfree
