Canadian e-commerce spending grows by 20 percent, reports comScore Networks

The research found that spending by Canadians at more than 200 of the largest e-commerce sites in Canada and other countries increased by 20 percent during the fourth quarter of 2003 compared to the prior year. When examining the type of product or service purchased online, comScore ound that the growth in e-commerce was primarily the result of an increase in online travel spending, which grew by more than 50 percent -- in line with the growth rate observed by comScore in the United States. In Q4 2003, online travel spending by Canadian residents accounted for 46 percent of the countrys total consumer e-commerce sales (excluding auctions), which mirrors a similar proportion observed in the U.S., where travel spending accounted for 44 percent of all online sales. In contrast to their increased travel spending, Canadians overall non-travel spending remained relatively flat versus a year ago. However, despite this aggregate trend, comScore did find growth among many individual sites. In fact, approximately 60 percent of the 100 largest non-travel sites in Q4 2003 succeeded in growing their sales among Canadian residents by more than 20 percent over Q4 2002. Canadian Sites Are Taking a Larger Piece of the Pie In addition to increased spending levels, the comScore analysis found that Canadians online buying is shifting from non-Canadian sites to Canadian sites. Both domestically owned properties, such as WestJet.com, AirCanada.ca and Indigo.ca, as well as Canadian subsidiary sites based in Canada, such as Expedia.ca and Staples.ca, are benefiting from this trend.