Canadians Prefer Shopping In-Store, Americans Favor Ecommerce

The majority of Canadians plan to do their holiday shopping in-store according to new research from SAS.

The analytics firm surveyed adult consumers from Canada, the United States, and the United Kingdom about their holiday shopping habits and the research found that 85% of Canadians surveyed favor shopping in-store for their holiday gifts, compared to 59% and 70% of their British and American counterparts, respectively. This is possibly due to the fact Canadian ecommerce is not as evolved: shipping costs and product costs are both often much higher in Canada than in the US.

“Despite global e-commerce trending upward, Canadians still prefer the in-store experience during the holidays,” said Augustin Nguyen SAS Retail Solutions Specialist for SAS Canada.

his is possibly due to the fact Canadian ecommerce is not as evolved: shipping costs and product costs are both often much higher in Canada than in the US.

90% of Canadian shoppers today do not use mobile payments, with 62% saying their credit or debit card is just as convenient, and 31% citing security concerns.

When it comes to holiday shopping, consumers may prefer shopping in store, but they still research gift ideas online. Twenty-nine per cent of respondents reported using online retailers’ product suggestions to find ideas for gifts to give, and more than half of shoppers go through with purchasing an item suggested by online retailers at least some of the time. 90% read product reviews and 97% compare prices online.

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