5 Compelling Stats to Make the Case for Canadian Cross-border eCommerce

No border eCommerce is a hot button topic in the last few years, and the conversation continues as more retailers are considering adding global selling capabilities to their online sites. For American online merchants, Canada comes to mind as the first foray into cross-border eCommerce expansion because of the similar buying habits of North Americans as a whole. Not sure if the investment will be worth the return? Here are 5 compelling statistics about the Canadian commerce market that may change your mind.

1. Big Buying Power

Forrester research has predicted that Canadians will spend $39 billion online by 2019. By 2019, the growth of Canadian online sales will reach 5x that of brick and mortar sales in the country. With the Canadian buying power growing as population grows, the outlook for the next decade is one of the most lucrative markets for American eCommerce merchants to enter.

2. So, what exactly are Canadians buying online?

According to the Canadian Strategic Council of surveyed Canadian consumers:

• 42% have bought clothing
• 40% have bought a travel package
• 34% have bought books
• 23% have bought music
• 29% have bought household goods

If you are an online merchant selling goods in one of these industries, you could be missing out on revenue for items 25-40% of Canadians are comfortable buying online.

3. Don’t Disregard B2B

According to the Strategic Council, 95% of Canadian small business owners report making online purchases. 61 percent of Canadian SMB owners purchase travel packages online, and business owners shop for government services (37%) or office supplies (34%) online. With the domestic B2B market becoming more saturated, there is room to made headway in the Canadian B2B market.

4. Millennials are leading the mobile charge

A responsive website is critical to conversion for any buying demographic, but millennial Canadians have significant mobile and tablet buying behaviors compared to the rest of the Canadian population. 22% of 18-34 year old Canadians surveyed made an item purchase from a mobile device, and 20% of this age range has made a purchase from a tablet, according to the Strategic Council.

5. What do Canadian buyer want?

The Strategic Council reports that 19% of Canadian buyers surveyed cite low or free shipping as the #1 motivator for buying from one eCommerce brand over another. This could prove to be difficult for international retailers shipping into Canada. With warehouse and inventory optimization, however, offering low shipping costs to Canada may return on the promotion.

If you’re thinking about going global, but don’t know where to start. We can help. Contact us for a complimentary analysis of your global eCommerce strategy.