A new survey by RBC Capital Markets has found that Amazon (AMZN) is the top e-commerce brand among online shoppers in Canada.
The annual “Canadian E-Commerce Survey” found that Amazon is still the market leader in Canada, with 84% of Canadians reporting that they had purchased an item from the online retailing giant in the past year. The next most popular e-commerce brand was Walmart (WMT), with 36% of respondents saying they had purchased an item from the company's site in the past 12 months.
The survey of 1,519 Canadians also found that 54% of respondents say they visit Amazon at least once a week, with another 35% saying they purchase items from the site between one and three times a month. Most customers turn to Amazon to purchase electronics, music and movies (43%), followed by apparel, shoes and accessories (41%), and books (37%).
Amazon has been steadily expanding its presence in Canada, increasing the number of fulfilment centres across the country, as well as expanding its corporate and technology teams in Toronto and Vancouver.
In December, Amazon announced that it will accelerate shipping speeds to Yellowknife, N.W.T. and Whitehorse, Yukon, cutting average delivery times in half from 10 days to five days.
While Amazon is still leading the way when it comes to online shopping, overall e-commerce levels have moderated slightly in Canada from the record-highs that were hit during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The RBC survey found that 63% of respondents visit online retail sites at least once a week, down slightly from 65% in 2020. However, more people are following through on purchases, with nearly one-third (29%) of those surveyed saying they buy things online at least once a week, up from 25% in 2020.
The survey also found that shoppers who made online purchases in the past year were most likely to purchase books, electronics, music, movies, and toys.
The categories that saw the fewest online shoppers included groceries and furniture, but the survey found that online demand for those items has “risen modestly” in the last year.
