E-tailing slows in Canada as shoppers look overseas

TORONTO — E-commerce growth is slowing in Canada after “dropping dramatically” earlier this year, says one industry analyst, who notes Canadians have become wise to how much better online shopping can be in other countries.

According to MasterCard Advisors, monthly Canadian e-commerce sales have grown on a year-overyear basis for 55 consecutive months, but the trend began losing steam earlier this year.

A streak of more than 15 months of year-over-year growth exceeding 20 per cent was broken in the spring when online sales in Canada began slumping, said Sarah Quinlan, a senior vicepresident with MasterCard Advisors.

There are economic factors at play that slowed down online shopping in Canada, but a nagging detriment to the ecommerce market is a relative lack of options for consumers, especially in comparison to what’s available in the U.S., U.K. and European countries.

While many of Canada’s biggest retailers host robust e-commerce platforms, there are some glaring omissions.

“One of the biggest challenges right now is there aren’t as many (e-commerce) options,” said Quinlan, who noted that consumers aren’t blind to the fact that there are often better deals and more selection available if they do some cross-border online shopping, even after factoring in the exchange rate, duties and shipping.