Contributed by Greg Shepard
It’s no secret; Canada is making up serious ground in the online marketing space. For much of the internet age, Canada has remained several years behind the U.S. in the area of eCommerce. Much of this stemmed from the high costs of less-than-ideal internet services and product shipping. Despite that, things have changed in recent years and there has been an upswing in general online commerce activity.
According to recent Forrester studies, about one-third of Canadian retailers have experienced a 35% increase in online sales. And while shopping cart abandonment rate remains high at 55%, likely due to high shipping costs, the average order value has increased 49%, the average order for repeat customers is up 39%, the number of sales from repeat customers is up 37% and website conversion rates are up 49%.
Despite increased costs for marketing, customer acquisition, fulfillment and IT, Canadian retailers remain upbeat and are putting their attention in the right places. According to Forrester, Canadian business owners are focused on marketing (64%), omnichannel (39%), merchandising (38%) and mobile (36%).
In terms of where and on what Canadian businesses will spend, that too, appears to be heading in the right direction, with:
- 63% planning to spend more on Facebook
- 54% planning to spend more on search marketing
- 54% planning to spend more on SEO
- 50% planning to spend more on email marketing
- 47% planning to spend more on retargeting
- 32% planning to spend more on social network sites and
- 30% planning to spend more on affiliate marketing.
All of these pointers paint a pretty picture for merchants, affiliates, networks, agencies and other players in the affiliate marketing landscape. We all know that eCommerce is the lifeblood of affiliate marketing and the conduit through which the magic happens. For merchants, it moves more product. For affiliates, it earns big commissions. For networks, it builds revenue.
For brands looking to enter or increase their presence in the Canadian market, the time is ripe for performance marketing.
Source: Forrester: Retail eCommerce in Canada 2015
Author Bio
Greg Shepard founded the global affiliate marketing agency, AffiliateTraction, in 1999, which was acquired by eBay Enterprise Marketing Solutions in January of 2016, and named Pepperjam the following April. Greg now serves as Pepperjam’s Chief Strategy Officer, charting the company’s trajectory for future product and service offerings. Greg also founded the brand compliance agency AdAssured, and has been a prominent speaker, author, and contributor at international industry events and media publications for over a decade.
✔ You may also be interested in reading:
How to Start an Affiliate Program for a Canadian Business
Top CPS and CPA Affiliate Networks for 2016 Revealed
Top Two-Tier Affiliate Programs for Canadians
10 Hot Product Niches to Sell or Drop Ship Online in Canada
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Melody McKinnon is an internet entrepreneur with 25 years of experience in a wide range of online business models, backed by a formal business education and enhanced by training and mentorship. She has owned or managed both educational and ecommerce websites. Her book, 7 Recession Proof Online Businesses to Start From Home, is available from all major ebook retailers.
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If you’ve liked Facebook folios that incline to pump out races or “please buy our thing” posts, expect to see them less in your feed from January. “Pages that post publicity creative should expect their organic delivery to fall meaningfully over time,” explains the social network.
My affiliate commissions are starting to go back to the high level they were at during the .com boom and it’s so great to be able to promote more Canadian businesses. The only complaint I have about them is they usually don’t pay as much but I’m sure they’ll learn abot competitive affiliate marketing. It would be a good thing for networks like Pepperjam to teach them about.