Infographic: 2023 Ecommerce business insights

Ecommerce has always been a fast-changing market – but never more than over the past few years. Canada’s online merchants have had to rethink their business models in the face of a global pandemic and contend with everything from labour shortages and supply chain constraints to inflation and economic uncertainty.

With many of these challenges still looming, Canada Post commissioned a survey of 755 Canadian ecommerce merchants to understand their expectations and priorities for the year ahead.

Our findings

We captured our ecommerce research findings in our latest infographic. Read it to unlock new opportunities and learn from other businesses like yours.

Canada’s ecommerce growth continues

Nine in 10 Canadian online merchants reported higher ecommerce sales in 2022 compared to the year before, with more than a third (35%) saying their sales grew by 20% or more.

Sustainability is gaining momentum

We asked merchants to identify the market trends that had the largest impact (whether positive or negative) on their performance over the past year. Growing consumer demand for sustainability came out on top (21%), followed by increased consumer spending (19%) and support for local businesses (18%).

Ecommerce merchants are optimistic about 2023

Canada’s online merchants are feeling good about their growth prospects for 2023, with 60% saying they expect their ecommerce performance to be better than in 2022. They credit their optimism primarily to their growing customer base (26%), business changes they’ve introduced over the past few years (26%), increasing demand for their products (25%) and supply chain issues clearing up (25%).

Customer retention and cost reduction are top priorities in 2023

Over the next 12 to 18 months, merchants will focus on retention and growing sales from their existing customers (26%) and reducing costs to save money (25%). These are common recessionary responses, and they suggest that merchants may be concerned about the current economic climate and proceeding with caution.

What our findings indicate

If you’re selling online in 2023, you have many reasons to be optimistic. Online sales are growing, supply chain issues are clearing up and consumers’ preference for sustainability and local businesses is creating new opportunities for small to mid-sized businesses to stand out.

At the same time, the threat of a potential recession continues to hang over the market. It may be wise to take a note from Canada’s online merchants, who are proving that they’re ready to survive and thrive in times of trouble – this time with practical measures like homing in on existing customers and managing their costs.

Sources:
Canada Post’s Business Omni Report conducted by The Strategic Counsel, March 2023