Canadians are shopping online in record numbers

This is what My Power Mall "buzz"-iness harnesses the power of:

Canadians set to spend $15.7 billion in online purchases: report

Last Updated: Wednesday, December 5, 2007 | 3:30 PM ET

CBC News

Canadians are shopping online in record numbers and are on track to spend about $15.7 billion Cdn on goods and services, a new e-commerce study suggests.

Jeffrey Grau, an analyst with the American research company eMarketer, said the e-commerce market has been growing steadily, but notes the current strength of the loonie has accelerated the trend.

"It's a unique time — this could be a boon to e-commerce in Canada because you may have people that are going online for the first time to purchase things because it's a very compelling offer. Also, people that are [doing it] already are buying more," he told CBCNews.ca.

Grau said online spending would double by 2011 to $37.2 billion but he notes the outlook is still modest for the Canadian market. According to Statistics Canada, about 15 per cent of Canadian retailers sell online.

"You've got some big Canadian retailers. It's really surprising they don't have a transactional website," he said. But Grau noted the small size of the country may be proving a deterrent to companies exploring e-commerce.

"You have a population of about 33 million people and so the return on investment is smaller because it's spread out over a smaller group of potential online buyers."

Grau also said a large percentage of Canadians live in urban areas with access to shopping malls and prefer to do their shopping without waiting. But he notes Canadians have shown willingness to shop online in the apparel and travel sectors.

In April, a Statistics Canada report said Canadian companies reported online sales of almost $50 billion though the federal agency noted e-commerce accounted for only one per cent of total retail sales in Canada. The bulk of online buying was largely conducted between businesses.

http://www.cbc.ca/technology/story/2007/12/05/ecommerce-consumer.html?ref=rss

Please visit: http://www.mypowermall.com/Biz/Home/99845

Join the Wave, today!