Cyber Monday Deals:More Canadians are expected to make their cross-border trade from the comfort of your couch this weekend, as awareness of the two American retail trends – “Black Friday” and “Cyber Monday” – increases, polls show....
About 34 per cent of Canadians aged 18 to 34 say they know the term “Cyber Monday,” according to a study conducted for the online payment service PayPal Canada, Ipsos Reid.
The phrase “Cyber Monday” was coined to describe the surge in orders over the Internet, which occurred on Monday after “Black Friday”, a day when American stores have traditionally put their best offers holiday.
Fifteen per cent of Canadians plan to shop Cyber Monday, to take advantage of any online offers, surveys of PayPal, is also revealed.
Most Canadians prefer to shop at the Canadian sites, says Darrell MacMullin, regional manager for PayPal, Canada, but not enough choices available.
“There’s a real opportunity for Canadian retailers to get online,” MacMullin said in an interview on Thursday.
Internet is not only will be available on Monday this year, as many retailers have begun advertising their best offers online at the beginning of the week and tied them to their in-store sales on Black Friday.
“I think Canadians will be doing a lot of cross-border trade will never cross the border,” Willy Kruh, chairman of the global consumer market for KPMG, said in aninterview. “They’re going to do it on their couch.”
Kruh said retailers on both sides of the border offer good deals this year, knowing consumers appreciate the conscious.
American buyers are still struggling with weak economies and high unemployment, Kruh said, while Canadians are focused on paying down debt and to adapt to new taxes, such as HST Ontario.
And while online stores remains “well under 10 percent” of all retail sales in Canada, it grows faster than other forms, Kruh said. Large transnational online-only players, such as a discount retailer of fashion rulala.com now ship to Canada, he said.
New kinds of Web-techniques are helping fuel an increase in sales over the Internet, John Torelli, a senior partner with JC Williams Group, the retail consulting firm based in Toronto, said in aninterview.
He led a group buying the coupon sites, such as groupon.com, as an example.
“There are a number of new ideas that are used on the web that we have not seen before,” said Torelli.
Earlier this week, Visa Canada says that nearly 30 percent of Canadian online shoppers said they are likely to make purchases at U.S. online stores to take advantage of Black Friday deals.
This 5 percent from a year earlier, Visa Canada said, based on a survey conducted for it Ipsos Reid.
One-third of online shoppers said they plan more online this weekend, on average expected to spend $ 242, compared with $ 226 last year. Male shoppers are expected to spend $ 251, with women slightly behind at $ 233.
Buyers are likely to select clothes and accessories, books, computers, the study found. They expected to spend more money on phones and other electronics, the study found.
