As one of the world’s heaviest users of the internet, Canadians have embraced electronic commerce amid a major disruption in retail channels. Per eMarketer, as of March 2017, retail ecommerce sales totaled approximately C$1.2 billion. Retailers are investing in digital platforms to reach consumers dispersed over a vast land mass while responding to competition from global e-tailers such as Amazon. In fact, by 2015, 84 percent of Canadians had purchased something online and more than 20 percent of Canadians shopped online about once per month. It is estimated that there will be 20 million digital buyers in Canada who will spend $50 billion annually online by 2019, representing 10 percent of all retail purchases in Canada. Twenty-seven percent of Canadians have shopped online once a month and it is estimated that the ecommerce industry will reach C$50 billion by 2020, representing 10 percent of all retail purchases in Canada.
Canadian consumers increasingly rely upon the internet to place orders. For the past decade, internet consumer sales have risen at a far higher rate than traditional retail sales. Most Canadian retail firms have adopted wireless technologies and internet-based systems to improve business-to-business and business-to-consumer relations. Manufacturing firms and government organizations are also increasingly likely to use the internet for purchases, especially for small routine orders.
The Canadian ecommerce market closely resembles that of the United States and therefore shares some of the trends in the retailers to the south. Trends shaping the Canadian e‑commerce market include:
Although approximately 88.5 percent of all Canadians have access to stable internet service, the users primarily live in the more urban areas of the country. Internet access provides a crucial link to the rest of the world for residents in remote communities in Canada’s north, but delivering high-speed services remains costly and difficult.
The growth of ecommerce is due not only to the volume of purchases, but also to the breadth of goods and services Canadians purchase. Media products, including books, music, apps, and show tickets top the list, followed by apparel and footwear, flights and travel packages, consumer electronics, and household goods.
Although Canadians prefer to support Canadian businesses, a significant proportion of the nation’s ecommerce spending goes to non-Canadian websites. One-third of the total spending is in the United States and the rest in Asia (primarily China) and Europe. In fact, 67 percent of online purchases Canadians made in 2016 were from other countries. Canada has many small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), but the companies have been slow to enter the e‑commerce industry. Canadians cite lower prices and better selection as some reasons for shopping outside the country.
Due to Canada’s strong economy and proximity to the United States, retailers aspire to tap into the growing ecommerce market in Canada. For U.S. retailers who are selling beyond their borders for the first time, Canada offers an easy cross-border opportunity with similar taxes, fees, and shipping safety. How-to websites, such as CrossBorderShopping.ca, have also been created for the sole purpose of aiding Canadian consumers through the process, providing price comparison tools and outlining areas such as return policies, taxes, and restrictions.
Virtually all Canadian small business owners report making online purchases. Large numbers of business owners are opting to purchase their travel online and are more likely to access government services or office supplies online.
Canada's ecommerce infrastructure is highly developed and closely integrated with that of the United States. Broadband internet access is offered throughout Canada using much of the same equipment as in the United States. Information flows freely across the border, and without difficulty. U.S. companies do not need to set up a separate website. Many U.S. companies have integrated Canadian transactions into their current websites. Others maintain a distinct “.ca” domain. U.S. companies selling to Canadian business and consumers over the internet should have procedures in place to meet Canadian customs requirements and pricing in Canadian dollars. More than 200 languages are spoken in Canada. English and French are official languages. This linguistic duality can present an obstacle for retailers, sometimes requiring multilingual customer care and sites to be successful.
U.S. companies need to comply with Canada's federal data privacy laws, including the Privacy Act and the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA), as well as provincial privacy laws. PIPEDA requires persons or firms that collect personal information during commercial activities to inform the subject of all possible uses of the data and to obtain consent for the use.
Canada’s Anti-Spam Law (CASL) took effect on July 1, 2014 and was scheduled to come into full effect July 1, 2017, however a cabinet order dated June 2, 2017, indefinitely repeals that July coming-into-force date so Parliament can examine the legislation.
CASL significantly limits the way companies send Commercial Electronic Messages (CEM). A CEM is defined as any electronic message intended to encourage participation in a commercial activity. An electronic message includes email, text messages, VoIP phones, digital radio, digital TV, and some aspects of social media. Under CASL, the sender of a CEM must have express or implied permission before sending the recipient a CEM. Although CASL does not ban sending CEMs, the law requires that senders obtain prior consent before sending the CEM. Senders must also provide identifying information in all CEMs. This information must be valid for 60 days after the message is sent. All CEMs must also include an obvious unsubscribe mechanism.
MasterCard is the preferred credit card scheme in Canada, with 53.6% share.
Canadians prefer cards, accounting for 65% of transactions. But e-wallets comprise 23.2% of the payments market, which is dominated by PayPal (22%). Bank transfers make up 3.3% of transactions, while offline cash payments account for a further 7.2%.
Cash on delivery, prepayment, direct debit, and payment upon invoice are far behind. While every second person 'never' uses these pay- ment methods in the interna- tional comparison, more than three quarters never use them in Canada.
Over 17% of Canadians make online retail purchases via mobile devices more than once a week, and omni-channel fulfillment initiatives are growing in popularity.
The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) placed Canada on the Watch List in 2017 in its annual Special 301 report on IPR. The United States remains deeply concerned that Canada does not provide customs officials with the ability to detain, seize, and destroy pirated and counterfeit goods that are moving in transit or are transshipped through Canada. Other concerns relate to Canada’s failure to implement certain provisions of its copyright reforms and protection of pharmaceutical patents.
There are several methods online vendors can use to collect payment in Canada, the most popular being credit card-based – Instadebit, Interac Online, and PayPal -- but some vendors also offer the option for prepaid card or prepaid voucher. MasterCard is the preferred credit card in Canada, with 53.6 percent share of the market; Visa closely follows with 41.3 percent and American Express with 5.1 percent.
In 2016, 25 percent of Canadians made online retail purchases with their mobile devices and this trend is growing. Millennial consumers (ages 18-34) lead the trend, with 41 percent of these shoppers purchasing via digital devices at least once a week.
Prepared by our U.S. Embassies abroad. With its network of 108 offices across the United States and in more than 75 countries, the U.S. Commercial Service of the U.S. Department of Commerce utilizes its global presence and international marketing expertise to help U.S. companies sell their products and services worldwide. Locate the U.S. Commercial Service trade specialist in the U.S. nearest you by visiting http://export.gov/usoffices.