Sitting on the brink of the holiday season online retailers are looking for a further sales surge. According to U.S.-based company, eMarketer, online sales (in the U.S.) for November and December will total $16.7 billion or an increase of about 30% over 2003. Fourth quarter sales are expected to reach $22.3 billion up from $17.5 billion last year.
Some of the reasons for the increase are; more retailers are improving their online access and sophistication, more retailers are going on line, increased broadband access and consumers are warming up to online shopping.
No matter how you dice it online shopping is rapidly increasing (in the U.S.) as more consumers adopt the habit.
Canada: Out of Step?
A new study available now from eMarketer asks why Canada, a world leader in Internet connectivity, has been so slow to accept e-commerce. Canada is the fourth largest broadband access country in the world behind South Korea, Hong Kong, and Taiwan (the U.S. ranks 10th) and yet Canadians spend less than 1% of total personal spending on the Internet ($3 billion in 2003) .
Canada has 36.2 % broadband penetration; the U.S. has 22.5% penetration.
eMarketer estimates that 5.2 million Canadian households have broadband connection (66% of all online households) It is commonly accepted that broadband Internet connectivity is an enabler and indicator of online buying, however Canadians don't seem to be proving this theory.
By the same token, Canadians are world leaders in online banking and other online services.
Report author and eMarketer senior analyst, Jeffrey Grau, says there is no single answer to this paradox. As explanation Mr. Grau suggests that there are several contributing factors. He says that Canadians are cautious and are slow to adjust to online purchasing, retailers have been hesitant to invest in Internet technology and the Government has no strategic initiatives to stimulate Canada's e-commerce.
The compete report "Consumer E-Commerce in Canada" is available from www.emarketer.com
