{"id":4311,"date":"2018-09-19T10:30:49","date_gmt":"2018-09-19T14:30:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/clearit.ca\/canadian-customs-broker-blog\/?p=4311"},"modified":"2018-09-19T10:34:35","modified_gmt":"2018-09-19T14:34:35","slug":"canadian-ecommerce-selling-digitally-as-a-non-resident-importer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/clearit.ca\/canadian-customs-broker-blog\/canadian-ecommerce-selling-digitally-as-a-non-resident-importer\/","title":{"rendered":"Canadian Ecommerce: Selling Digitally as a Non-Resident Importer"},"content":{"rendered":"

Online shopping has taken hold of consumers across the globe, and things are no different in Canada. According to a study by Forrester<\/a>, Canada will earn roughly $39 billion in online sales by 2019. This is just the beginning of an increasingly profitable market as more and more companies make their way into the Canadian online market.<\/p>\n

Numbers for -commerce have continued to rise since 2016. Statista<\/a> determined that there will be a tremendous increase in online sales for years to come. In 2016, sales of physical goods via ecommerce turned a profit of just over $20 billion (in USD). That number increased by $2 billion in 2017, and their online sales forecast to 2022 indicates that profits will continue to increase by roughly $2 billion every year.<\/p>\n

Still, for all the recent growth, ecommerce is still a relatively untapped market that is just hitting its stride, making it a perfect target for non-resident importers (NRIs) looking to make a mark on the Canadian ecommerce market.<\/p>\n

What are Canadians buying and where? <\/b><\/h2>\n

With ecommerce becoming a more documented phenomenon, many surveys have noted that Canadians are showing signs of preferred purchase towards Canadian businesses.<\/p>\n

The Canadian Internet Registration Authority (CIRA)<\/a>, conducted an investigation in 2016 that showed Canadian shoppers place more emphasis on Canadian retailers. The investigation found that 62% of shoppers in the Great White North preferred to buy from Canadian-run businesses.<\/p>\n

While the investigation found that Canadian shoppers had a preference towards Canadian businesses, almost 50 percent of shoppers also made purchases on foreign websites. Foreign sites offering better deals and more variety can capture some of the market.<\/p>\n

According to another CIRA survey, Canadians are shopping for a wide range of items, too. This means the market is expanding, and what you sell is becoming more valuable by the day through ecommerce.<\/p>\n

The CIRA survey (1,200 Canadian participants) says that Canadians are shopping for: <\/b><\/h3>\n