Canadians Prefer Back-To-School Shopping Online

It may seem hard to believe, but it’s already the middle of August. And what may be even harder to believe for students is that the beginning of the new school year is just a few short weeks away. For retailers, that’s good news. Back-to-school shopping is in full swing and that means that stores are packed with parents who are looking to get their children ready for September.

In Canada, back-to-school shopping brings in big business. And according to Patricia Kozicka of Global News, most of that business will be occurring online. Earlier this month, she wrote that a recent Visa Canada survey found that 79 per cent of shoppers will be doing their back-to-school shopping using the internet. So, naturally, you know what that means.

Nearly an eighth of the nation’s shoppers will be using their credit cards to pay for their back-to-school purchases! Just imagine the impact such a statistic would have on businesses who don’t accept Visa and MasterCard. This statistic also speaks to the fact that retailers need to have a strong online presence that enables customers to shop without coming into physical locations.

“Canadians are approaching the back-to-school season in a savvier way, looking online to help them get what they need for a price they’re willing to pay,” said Associate Vice-President of Pollara, Dan Arnold. Pollara is the organization that conducted the survey for Visa. It also found that Canadians plan on spending an average of $325 each on back-to-school shopping this year.

In addition, the survey also found that 58 per cent of shoppers will need at least three shopping trips to find everything they need. 67 per cent have already started back-to-school shopping this month while just four per cent plan on waiting until the last minute. And 87 per cent admit to looking at items in-store before buying them online – a practice known as “showrooming”.

Back-to-school shopping may not have the same financial impact as Christmas shopping for merchants across Canada, but it is certainly an important time of year for many retailers. With the internet being such a popular avenue for people to make purchases, it should go without saying that credit card acceptance is practically a mandatory practice. Are you accepting plastic yet?

Of course, Canadian POS Corporation allows its clients to process Visa, MasterCard and Interac cards among others as methods of payment. We offer top-notch POS terminals while also keeping mindful of providing the best customer service in our industry. In addition, our rates are among the most affordable available anywhere. Give us a call today at 1-877-748-2884 to get set up within three days!