FROM TODAY'S GLOBE AND MAIL
Net will catch more
Christmas shoppers:
study
MARK EVANS
Technology Reporter
Monday, November 15, 1999
Shopping malls may be a little less crowded
this Christmas as consumers flock to the
Internet to buy holiday gifts, says a study to
be released today.
On-line purchases by Canadians will more
than double, to $370-million this Christmas
from about $150-million last year, according
to a study from Pollara Inc. and Omnia
Communications Inc. It found the average
on-line shopping bag will hold goods worth
about $245.
"There's good news, in that Christmas sales
will see a surge in growth," said Duncan
McKie, a senior vice-president with
Toronto-based Pollara. "The big question is
whether it will last beyond [Christmas]."
A doubling of on-line holiday sales this year
would be significant, Mr. McKie said,
because that would mean total holiday sales
alone would represent about 75 per cent of
electronic-commerce sales during the
previous 12 months.
Other positive signs are that large retailers
such as Future Shop Ltd. and Sears
Canada Inc. are marketing their Web sites
aggressively, while concerns about the
security of credit card and personal
information are easing.
And 65 per cent of on-line holiday
purchases by Canadians will be made at
Canadian Web sites, Mr. McKie said,
compared with 40 per cent in 1998.
Vida Morkunas, group manager of Internet
marketing with Future Shop's Web site
(http://www.futureshop.ca ), said the
consumer electronics retailer is optimistic
about holiday sales and it believes
consumers will be more active this year
because they can shop in Canada rather
than using a U.S. Web site.
"This will definitely will be a Canadian
electronic-commerce Christmas, much
more so than last year," Ms. Morkunas
said.
"It's a great way to beat the crowds, you
don't have to fight for a parking spot and
you don't have to suffocate in malls."
Future Shop's high hopes about the holidays
are shared by Toronto-based Sears
Canada, which is posting more than
$1-million of sales a week on its Web site
(http://www.sears.ca ).
Garry Smith, vice-president of on-line
merchandise with Sears Canada, said the
department store retailer's sales will at least
double compared with last year. He said
sales are being buoyed up by the fact that
all the merchandise in Sears' holiday
catalogue can be purchased on-line.
"A lot of people are shopping through the
catalogue and placing orders on-line and
there are new customers who -- because
we are offering such a wide selection of
Christmas gifts -- are finding the Web
another source" for buying.
Even smaller retailers are hoping to
capitalize on the increased popularity of
electronic commerce.
Andy Levy, president of Toronto-based
Mastermind Educational Technologies
Inc., which operates nine toy stores in
Ontario, said his company's on-line sales
will more than double compared with last
year because consumers are comfortable
with the Web as a tool of convenience.
As more consumers have positive shopping
experiences on-line, he said, it will give the
E-commerce market more momentum.
Mr. McKie said the only bad news about
electronic commerce in Canada is that it
still lags behind the United States, even
when population differences are taken into
account.
According to New York-based Jupiter
Communications Inc., U.S. holiday on-line
sales will jump to $6-billion (U.S.) from
$3.1-billion.
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