Retailmenot has just released an 11-country consumer behavior study.
Result for Canada: Canadians are least likely to buy online, coupon searching and usage is one of the lowest and buying based on price is not a major motivating factor when buying. Some of the key findings include:
15 per cent of Canadians never look for deals and offers on products and are the least likely out of all 11 countries surveyed to visit a price comparison website (6 per cent).
Only 4 per cent of Canadians surveyed look for deals and offers primarily via social media; and
Quebec has the highest percentage of respondents who never buy online (29 per cent).
There are many reasons for these survey results and we at the Canadian Deals & Coupon Association believe that the Canadian’s consumer use of deals, coupons and sales will only continue to grow and mimic that of the United States within a few years once more Canadian ecommerce stores are available and more products are available to be purchased at reasonable prices in Canada compared to the US. If only 4% of Canadian surveyed look for deals via Social media it is probably because there aren’t many Canadian coupons on Social Media to begin with. The survey states that Quebec has the highest percentage of consumers that do not buy online. This most certainly has to do with the fact that there are very few French based ecommerce stores online compared to English ones. Quebec has one of the highest rates of online usage in Canada. Online buying from Quebec consumers is determined by the availability of French ecommerce destination, of which there are very few.
With more and more US based retailers entering the Canadian market and more Canadian online store popping up every week, including more french based ecommerce stores and french couponing and deal providers, the focus on savings, deals and couponing is in a growth phase for Canada. We at the Canadian Deals & Coupon Association, along with some of the top deal and coupon providers in the country are rather confident of the growth that Canada will experience in ecommerce, mobile commerce and couponing over the next few years.
Here is the original press release from Retailmenot.
Canada Lags in Online and Mobile Shopping
TORONTO, Aug. 21, 2013 /CNW/ – Think Canadians are savvy online shoppers? Think again. A new international study commissioned by RetailMeNot.ca reveals that 22 per cent of Canadians never buy anything online, compared with only 6 per cent of both Germans and Britons, and 4 per cent of the Chinese. Americans fall in the middle of the pack, with 12 per cent shunning online retail.
The study also showed that 15 per cent of Canadians never look for deals and offers on products and are the least likely out of all 11 countries surveyed to visit a price comparison website (6 per cent).
“The vast majority of Canadian consumers have shopped online. Yet, with three in four still shopping primarily in-store, our research of more than 10,000 consumers in 11 countries shows Canadian consumers have yet to embrace online shopping at the levels of consumers in the UK and Germany. That behavior is consistent with Canadians looking for deals and discounts offline in their weekly flyers versus online,” says Josh Harding, vice president of global operations for RetailMeNot, Inc. “Our recent expansion into Canada with RetailMeNot.ca is helping more consumers realize just how easy it is to find savings on their purchases.”
Other Canadian findings:
Men are more likely than women to shop primarily online, either via retailers’ e-commerce website and/or on their mobile device (31 per cent vs. 22 per cent);
Only 4 per cent of Canadians surveyed look for deals and offers primarily via social media; and
Quebec has the highest percentage of respondents who never buy online (29 per cent).
Canadians are also among the least likely to use their mobile device for shopping (40 per cent), joined at the bottom by the French (30 per cent) and Dutch (41 per cent). Survey respondents in India (82 per cent) and China (76 per cent) are the most likely to use their mobile devices to shop for items and deals.
Among other findings:
R.I.P. QR Codes: Internationally, only 12 per cent of respondents have used a QR code to find out more information about a product. Germans are most likely to use a QR code (20 per cent);
Privacy (Doesn’t) Matter: Internationally, only 15 per cent of respondents said they preferred the privacy of shopping online rather than going to a store, with Canadians at 14 per cent. However, 30 per cent of respondents from both China and India indicated they prefer the privacy of shopping online; and
You’ve Got Mail: Each with 28 per cent, Canadians, Americans and Germans mainly look for coupons and vouchers in the newspaper or mail, ahead of the international average of 16 per cent for the rest of the countries in the study. The Chinese (5 per cent), as well as Britons (6 per cent), are among the least likely to do so.
Survey Methodology
The online survey was conducted by Ipsos Public Affairs from June 10–24, 2013, among a total of 10,009 adults across 11 countries. This included roughly 1,000 interviews in each of Australia, France, Germany, Italy, the United States, Canada, Great Britain, India and China, and 500 interviews in Sweden and the Netherlands. Results are weighted to the general adult population ages 16–64 in each country (or in the U.S. and Canada, 18–64).
About RetailMeNot.ca
RetailMeNot.ca (www.retailmenot.ca) is a new digital coupon site in Canada. Its mission is to help consumers save money and enjoy a hassle-free discount shopping experience with retailers serving Canada. RetailMeNot.ca promotes digital coupons from thousands of retailers who do business with Canadians. RetailMeNot.ca is operated by RetailMeNot, Inc. (NASDAQ:SALE), the world’s largest digital coupon marketplace.