Canadian market has its own preferences, needs and expectations
The most active groups of Canadians who have the highest response to catalogers are between the ages of 35 and 55. They like to purchase men’s apparel, women’s casual shoes, and home décor, according to a recent research project Canada Post did with NPD Group titled, “What Canadians Want – A study into direct buying behavior, July 2007.”
In 2006, retailers in Canada sold USD 391.4 billion worth of goods, up 6.4 percent from 2005 – the highest in nine years.
The most active online shoppers are 25 to 34 and buy small electronics, men’s clothing and skincare products.
Consumers were asked, “What US retailers would you like online access to?” Across the categories of apparel, footwear, health and beauty, and home décor, the top retailers that came back were Target, Clarks, Bath & Body Works, and Bed, Bath & Beyond.
The categories that hold the most potential for US mailers are women’s apparel, home décor driven by small appliances and electronics, and skincare products.
There are over 32 million Canadians and 80 percent of them live within 60 miles of the US border, so the potential to sell in this market is great.
One of the leading misconceptions that US mailers have of Canada is that they can enter the market with the same message, the same marketing tools and expect the same type of response they would receive from an American consumer.
US retailers should think back to when they first launched their businesses in the US. This would be a similar approach to Canada, or any international market.
Canada has a higher Internet penetration rate than the US. Internet shopping is still a growing segment of retail there.
“The good news is that we are picking up steam; our e-commerce spend is set to double to USD 16B by 2009; Canadian online shoppers spend between 23 and 83 percent more than average Canadian shoppers; and with the rise of the Canadian dollar, the border is blurring between US and Canada and many Canadian shoppers are looking southbound to make their purchases,” Sazon said.
Borderfree – Borderfree is a service provided by Canada Post that enables US retailers to accept payment in Canadian dollars as well as quotes of duties and taxes at the time of purchase. Through a white-labeled payment portal, Borderfree does customs brokerage and clearance leveraging Canada Post’s postal network, delivering to over 14 million addresses across Canada.
Canada Post recently introduced Canada’s first customer modeling tool specifically for the catalog market. The Snapshot segmentation system segments 12.5 million households into five major buying groups and over 150 subgroups to assist US mailers in determining market size, customer profile and circulation plans.
Canada Post also recently launched a co-marketing catalog, The Lookbook Catalog, that offers US mailers an opportunity to message more than 1 million Canadians. This catalog is targeted to participating mailers’ profiles and offers English and French circulation both in print and on the Web. Past participants include Eddie Bauer, Hammacher Schlemmer, Brookstone, LUSH, Cabelas, and Naturalizer.
