Canadians are rapidly discovering they don't have to shop until they drop, merely until they click out.
A new study shows that two-thirds of adult Internet users in this country have made at least one online purchase in the past 12 months and that e-shopping spending is up 14 per cent from a year ago.
Canadian Internet consumers on average spent $361 in the last year, which is up from previous year, according to a study conducted by CF Group Inc.
"This works out to close to $3 billion worth of goods and services bought over the Internet by Canadians in the last 12 months,” said David Stark, public affairs director of CF Group. However, while two-thirds say they buy mostly from Canadian-based retailers, one-quarter buy mainly from U.S. companies.
Convenience is the biggest attraction for online shopping, while the biggest concern is still security. The study also found that although fewer people over 50 are connected to the Internet, those who are are just as likely as their younger counterparts to go Web shopping.
Almost one in three Canadian online consumers have purchased from Chapters.ca, the top Canadian online retailer. Canadian sites of Ticketmaster, Columbia House and Sears have each attracted purchases from close to one in five online shoppers. Rounding out the top 10 most popular retailers in this country are Future Shop, Indigo, HMV, Business Depot, Canadian Tire and the Shopping Channel.
