Canadians now 56 percent more likely to shop online than 5 years ago: survey

Unsurprisingly, more Canadians are taking to shopping online than ever before.

In fact, Canadians are now 56 percent more likely to shop online than they were five years ago, according to a new survey from FedEx Canada.

Specifically, 40 percent of Canadians say they’re more likely to shop online this year compared to last year. The top reasons they cited for this change are time saving (62 percent), better stock and selection (59 percent) and the freedom to shop without anyone else around (35 percent). Moreover, Canadians are now turning to online shopping to help kill time, with 16 percent they do so while with in-laws.

However, there are a number of Canadian consumers who are still apprehensive about e-commerce. Overall, 68 percent of respondents said they were concerned about having their online orders stolen upon delivery. Further, 29 percent of those surveyed said they have actually experienced package theft in the past.

Outside of theft, 22 percent of Canadian Gen Zs avoid online shopping out of fear of spending too much. Seven percent of Boomers share this concern.

The 2019 FedEx Holiday Shopping Survey was conducted by Edelman and Logit on behalf of FedEx. The survey ran between September 20th and 25th and collected responses from 1,500 Canadian consumers above the age of 18, with a margin of error of plus or minus 2.5 percent.

Source: FedEx Canada