A recent Statistics Canada (StatsCan) report found that more Canadians are window shopping and making purchases online. This week we published a report on the online retail industry in Canada, Online Retail Trends and Opportunities, which similarly showed an 8% year over year increase in visits to Shopping and Classifieds websites in April.
The most popular retail categories online (based on share of Canadian internet visits in April 2010) were Classifieds, Rewards and Directories, Auctions, Department Stores and House and Garden. Classifieds and House and Garden were among the fastest growing retail categories, with visits up 25% and 26% year over year in April. The table below lists the top 10 retail categories and their year over year growth in April in share of Canadian internet visits.
Rewards and Directories has also seen strong growth, with visits up 13% year over year in April. Rewards and Directories has overtaken Auctions as the #2 retail industry. It is made up of comparison shopping sites such as NexTag, Gifts.com and Shopzilla. The category is dominated by US brands, most of which do not carry Canadian pricing, highlighting an important opportunity for the Canadian marketplace.
Request a copy of the full report here.