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· Issue 34 · April 2016
E-commerce Sales and
Your Northern Neighbor by Steven Page
Steven Page
C
anada’s strong economy and high-demand for inter-
With shockingly high freight charges that often arise
national products make optimized e-commerce web-
when shipping from the U.S. to Canada, it’s important to
sites a gold mine for U.S. based businesses. In 2015,
clearly present product pricing and shipping and handling
75% of Canadians made more than one purchase online. According to Statistics Canada, almost 60% of online
information, which will help reduce shopping cart abandonment rates.
sales made in Canada in 2012 were on e-commerce sites
On the backend, e-commerce companies need to seam-
outside the country. When U.S. e-tailers optimize their web-
lessly and efficiently deliver their products to their Canadian
sites to cater to the needs of their growing consumer base
customers, preventing surprise fees, and border delays, or
in Canada, they have a better chance of retaining long-term
forced local post office pick up. And to provide the best user
customers and driving revenue.
experience that avoids customer service nightmares, a simple
With the ease of purchase and ability to acquire unique items delivered straight to their door, Canadians expect the online shopping experience to be simple and straightforward, including the shipping and return process.
returns policy and process should also be outlined and easily accessed by consumers. All of this can be accomplished by partnering with a logistics partner that specializes in moving freight to Canada.
As Canadians shift their preferred shopping channels of
The main thing here is to factor all fees into the cost of the
choice to include more e-commerce, marketers should be
item shown on the website, so that the customer is aware of
ready for the surge in purchases and the various logistics that
the final cost they will pay, rather than having to pay one price
are necessary for efficiently delivering products to customers
up front, and additional fees upon delivery. If taxes and duties
north of the border.
are excluded at the onset, and the customer has to pay more
A recent study by eMarketer estimated that Canadians will
money when they receive the product, past experience shows
spend over $26 billion USD on e-commerce sites by 2019. But,
they will be extremely unhappy and may never purchase from
in order to get products that are not available in their country,
the website again.
Canadians often end up paying much more than the cost shown
To be successful, it is vital that businesses invest in tech-
on the website. The growing Canadian e-commerce market
nology, and partner with the right vendors that will make their
makes it critical for U.S. e-commerce companies to focus on
e-commerce website and delivery methods efficient, easy, and
creating a user experience specific to Canadian shoppers.
sustainable for long-term success in the Canadian market.
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Steven Page is Founder & President of Stalco, a Canadian-based logistics and fulfillment company.