While many have tried it, it looks like more and more Canadians are making it their preferred method of shopping – online. Data collected from Canada Post showed that about 76 per cent of Canadian households shopped online in the last year, according to the Canadian Press.
And those who shop online between four and 10 times per year are considered frequent online shoppers, and account for almost a quarter of the traffic. Canadians are also buying differently than they used to. Toy and game shipments saw a 37 per cent rise in the first quarter of this year.
“Consumers are dipping their toes into e-commerce, testing the waters, and becoming very quickly converted,” Danielle Doiron, director of parcels and e-commerce market development at Canada Post, told the Canadian Press.
It hasn’t been easy for retailers, with customers ordering larger items that have higher shipping costs, but can be worked around by ordering pick up at the store or through a depot.
Best Buy has taken things a step further by offering their customers to have the item shipped from a store if they are unable to find it on the website. This feature launches later this month.
“We will make any product available to any customer at any time,” Thierry Hay-Sabourin, vice-president of e-commerce for Best Buy Canada, told an industry audience at the Etail conference on Monday, according to Canadian Press.
Best Buy recently closed its Future Shop locations and is currently turning them into Best Buy locations.
