E-commerce in Canada: Need-to-know numbers for retailers

Based on data released by Statistics Canada this week, retailers should be patting themselves on the back for their online efforts. Look closer at the numbers, however, and you’ll see there’s considerable opportunity still ahead.

As the infographic below illustrates, merchants here are making progress in connecting with Canadians through channels other than brick and mortar stores, but it’s still only four percent of total retail sales last year. This compares to close to eight percent in the U.S.

The Globe and Mail’s ROB Insight (subscription required) notes that our firms “have been slow to embrace cogent e-commerce strategies,” leaving American firms open to grab “a handsome slice of the Canadian  online commerce pie, at our domestic retailer’s expense.” That may make this a good time to revisit what technologies can assist retail firms in Canada to grow e-commerce even more in 2013 and beyond.

Image courtesy of arztsamui at FreeDigitalPhotos.net