OTTAWA – The Canadian e-commerce sector continues to grow, particularly as mobile devices assume a more central role in the process, says a report this week by the Canadian Internet Registration Authority (CIRA).
The 2015 .CA Factbook, an annual report on the state of the Canadian Internet, found that the majority of e-commerce in Canada is driven by large enterprises, which generated $87 billion in online sales, and represented 64% of the total value of online sales in 2013. Canadian small businesses have remained reluctant to embrace the web, with just 42.3% of small businesses in Canada currently have a website, compared with 91.4% of large companies.
Other highlights from the report include:
– Younger Canadians are starting to purchase online using mobile devices, making mobile-friendly e-commerce implementations critical, though the majority of purchases online were made on personal computers;
– Canadians who are buying online report spending more on transactions through Canadian websites than they do on international sites;
– A strong web presence affects retailers looking to drive sales in-store, as many Canadians report browsing online for goods that they will eventually purchase in-store, but few Canadians browse in-store to buy online; and
– The top six goods or services purchased by individual Canadians online are clothing and apparel (42%), flights or travel packages (41%), books (36%), other goods/products (32%), show or game tickets (31%) and electronics (31%).
"E-commerce represents an important avenue of growth for Canadian companies," said David Fowler, director of marketing and communications for .CA, in the report’s news release. "Our research found more than 40 per cent of small businesses do not have websites, yet all Canadians, particularly younger adults, are increasingly making purchases from mobile devices. Canadian small businesses need to get online, and they need to be ready to sell on mobile."
The report also examined mobile use in Canada, and found that 57% of Canadians aged 18-34 report accessing the Internet with mobile devices, compared with just 11% of those over 55. With Canadians continuing to embrace more full-featured smartphones versus feature phones, the report noted a 46% growth in photo and video sharing, likely due to the popularity of Instagram, Snapchat, Vine and related services. Sports content saw a 39% increase and mobile banking and maps/ directions increased 38% and 37%, respectively.
