The Canadian e-commerce market is beginning to close the gap with e-commerce in the U.S. in terms of the number and make-up of users, according to a recent survey by Chicago-based J.C. Williams Group for YourShops.ca.
Although Canadian consumers’ Internet use is among the highest in the world, Canadians traditionally have shied away from online shopping, says Jim Okamura, senior partner at J.C. Williams. “On the demand side, Canadians have never had as much of a tendency toward catalog shopping or remote shopping,” he says. “On the supply side, there has not been nearly the extent of choice for shoppers. Not as many retailers have opened up their e-commerce channels.”
One trend that bodes well for e-commerce in Canada is a shift from male dominance of online shopping to female dominance. This is important because a high percentage of household spending is influenced by the female head of the household, Okamura says. In the U.S., the gender profile of e-commerce is 60% women, 40% men.
The survey found that the make-up of the Canadian market has shifted to 55% women, 45% men. “This was one of those points that was quite encouraging for us to see in the Canadian market,” he says.
About 48% of the Canadian online buying population is information seekers who had an idea of a product they wanted to buy, yet needed more information through comparison shopping to make a decision, the survey found. About 41% of online buyers are so-called directed shoppers who know what they want to buy and where to buy it. And 11% of online buyers are impulsive shoppers who did not have an intended purchase but came across something they saw online and bought it.
The experience at YourShops.ca validates the trends outlined in the survey, says general manager Emmie Fukuchi. “We’re seeing about 60% of our shoppers are female, so it’s very similar to what the study says. And in a similar vein, women shoppers are spending a little bit less than their male counterparts,” she says. The study found that men spend more online—an average of $368 in the past six months versus $275 for women.
The study was based on a survey of 1,014 individuals from Nov. 10 to Nov.15.
Back...
