Forget Cyber Monday: More Canadians to shop online Nov.27

American musician and spoken word artist Jello Biafra once quipped, "give me convenience or give me death". Admittedly that's a little overdramatic but in light of what we're told is the kick-off to the holiday shopping season, eBay Canada Inc. says more Canadians will shop online this year than ever before; the convenience offered by online shopping being a key driver.

Based on eBay data and the holiday shopping season thus far, the online marketplace vendor predicts that Sunday, Nov. 27, will be Canada's busiest cyber-shopping day of 2011. eBay's research also suggests that 40 per cent of Canadian shoppers are expected to do some or all of their holiday shopping online this year, an increase of approximately 11 per cent over 2010.

"Canadians are craving convenience when it comes to holiday shopping: Nearly 70 per cent of Canadians shop online because it saves them time," says Kevin Wolfley, community relations manager, eBay Canada in Toronto. "The economy is what it is. When you talk about it within the context of eBay, you've got a global marketplace that's defined by demand. Inventory will range greatly in price so for the cost-conscious, they're looking at online shopping as a way to get things cheaper in general."

More than a half-million Canadians are expected to shop on eBay during what the vendor has dubbed "Super Sunday", buying nearly two gifts every second, an estimated 17 per cent rise over last year. One can't help but wonder if eBay's Super Sunday is merely a response to Black Friday stateside.

"Black Friday and Cyber Monday are such enormous events in the States that it does affect Canadian consumers and that's part of the reason. The other part of how we arrived at Super Sunday is based on historical data," he says. "eBay does so much business with the U.S. in terms of Canadian buyers purchasing U.S. goods and vice-versa that it behooves Canadian consumers and sellers to be involved in Black Friday and Cyber Monday."

Meanwhile, Tracy Ogden, spokesperson for Amazon.ca, says online shopping is on the rise in this country, evidenced by the new product categories Amazon.ca added in 2011.

"Anytime Amazon.ca or any of our international sites adds new categories it's as a result of customer demand," she says. "We're absolutely seeing Canadians wanting more from us and a broader selection of products, good prices, and free shipping."

Regarding the influence of Black Friday in Canada, she says it's increasingly become a factor.

"Last year was the first year we offered Black Friday deals to Canadians because they made it clear they wanted to take advantage of these types of deals in Canada rather than having to cross the border," she says. "This year we're taking it further with 13 days of promotions. I can't pick a single day of the year, but last year Black Friday was a huge day for us and we anticipate it being a bigger event this year."

CBC News reports Canucks will spend more this holiday, citing StatsCan data.

"Statistics Canada data revealed Tuesday that the holiday shopping bonanza may already have begun, as retail sales increased by 1 per cent in September, the largest increase since November 2010. In addition to gifts, Canadians say they plan on spending C$100 more ($612 compared to $512) on holiday entertainment, decorations and travel expenses this year compared to last."

The same article cites Royal Bank of Canada data that suggests, "Budget-minded consumers polled in RBC's survey say they plan on eschewing plastic in favour of cash in bricks and mortar retailers."

eBay Canada's Wolfley agrees the Canadian consumer is more cognizant of their debt load but he disagrees with the notion that consumers will turn to old-fashioned paper money and traditional shopping malls to contain costs.

"I don't think we'll see people going to brick and mortar stores to pay specifically with cash," he says.

He does see mobile smart devices driving more online business however.

"We have eBay mobile apps for Android, BlackBerry and iPhone platforms and we're expecting a 224 per cent lift over what we saw last year, which is eight items sold via a mobile device every minute," he adds. "That's really telling."