Canada Country Commercial Guide
Learn about the market conditions, opportunities, regulations, and business conditions in canada, prepared by at U.S. Embassies worldwide by Commerce Department, State Department and other U.S. agencies’ professionals
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eCommerce
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Overview 

Canadians have embraced electronic commerce amid a major disruption in retail channels. According to Statistics Canada, eCommerce retail trade sales in Canada amounted to an all-time high of US$3.82 billion in December 2020, surpassing the boost recorded in May 2020 (US$3.2 billion) due to the coronavirus pandemic lockdown measures. In 2025, the e-commerce market is valued at US$41.79 billion. It is estimated that eCommerce will grow to US$66.89 billion by 2030. Retailers are investing in digital platforms to reach consumers dispersed over a vast land mass, while responding to competition from websites, such as Amazon Canada. 

Electronics is currently the leading product category, followed by Fashion and Toys. 57% of Canadian shoppers use credit cards when shopping online and a further 18% use PayPal. The growth of eCommerce is due not only to the volume of purchases, but also to the breadth of goods and services Canadians purchase. The products that Canadians are buying from U.S.-based merchants are apparel and accessories, followed by books, music, and videos; consumer electronics; toys, hobbies, and games; health and beauty products; footwear; jewelry; household goods; sporting goods, DIY and garden supplies and groceries. From a B2B standpoint, virtually all Canadian small business owners report making online purchases. Large numbers of business owners are opting to arrange and purchase their travel online and are more likely to access services or office supplies online. 

Canada’s eCommerce infrastructure is highly developed and closely integrated with that of the United States. Broadband internet access is offered throughout Canada using much of the same equipment as in the United States. U.S. companies do not need to set up a separate website. Many U.S. companies have integrated Canadian transactions into their current websites. Others maintain a distinct “.ca” domain. U.S. companies selling to Canadian business and consumers over the Internet should have procedures in place to meet Canadian customs requirements and pricing in Canadian dollars. More than 200 languages are spoken in Canada. English and French are official languages. This linguistic duality can present an obstacle for retailers, sometimes requiring multilingual customer care and sites to be successful. Due to rise in social media accessibility, there is a growing emphasis surrounding the importance of a good customer service experience. The types of businesses likely to use e-commerce as a tool are wholesalers (29.8%), Information and Cultural Industries (27.1%) and Finance and Insurance (25.1%).  

Legal & Regulatory 

U.S. companies need to comply with Canada’s federal data privacy laws, including the Privacy Act and the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA), as well as provincial privacy laws. A main requirement of PIPEDA requires persons or firms that collect personal information during commercial activities to inform the subject of all possible uses of the data and to obtain consent for the use. 

Canada’s Anti-Spam Law (CASL) took effect on July 1, 2014. CASL significantly limits the way companies send Commercial Electronic Messages (CEM). A CEM is defined as any electronic message intended to encourage participation in a commercial activity. An electronic message includes email, text messages, VoIP phones, digital radio, digital TV, and some aspects of social media. Under CASL, the sender of a CEM must have express or implied permission before sending the recipient a CEM. Although CASL does not ban sending CEMs, the law requires that senders obtain prior consent before sending the CEM. Senders must also provide identifying information in all CEMs. This information must be valid for 60 days after the message is sent. All CEMs must also include an obvious unsubscribe mechanism.

Consumer Behavior 

Canadian consumers increasingly rely upon the Internet to place orders. For the past decade, Internet consumer sales have risen at a far higher rate than traditional retail sales. Most Canadian retail firms have adopted wireless technologies and internet-based systems to improve business-to-business and business-to-consumer relations. Manufacturing firms and government organizations are also increasingly likely to use the Internet for purchases, especially for small routine orders. Although approximately 94% of all Canadians have access to stable internet service, the users primarily live in the more urban areas of the country. Internet access provides a crucial link to the rest of the world for residents in remote communities in Canada’s north, but delivering high-speed services remains costly and difficult. 

Beyond internet accessibility, consumer behavior is also greatly affected by the economic landscape. Price can be an influential factor in consumer behavior and increasing inflation or economic downturn can result in far lower activity in e-commerce as much of the activity is defined by the consumer discretionary category. Additionally, data shows that acquiring new customers is generally perceived to be far less profitable than maintaining loyal customers online. The percentage of repeat customers grew indicating that it is more difficult and costly to acquire new customers. 

In 2025, it was found that 68% of Canadian consumers prefer and actively seek out Canadian products while shopping both online and offline. This should be something considered when considering exporting products into Canada. 

A new consumer behavior that has seen more activity in recent years is personalization. One in five Canadian customers is willing to spend 20% more on a product to have it personalized, although 42% of these people want the customization to be guided by the company.

The Canadian eCommerce market closely resembles that of the United States and therefore shares numerous trends, including: 

  • Hybrid purchases/“Click and Collect” – so-called “omnichannel” consumers order goods online and pick them up in a brick-and-mortar store. 
  • Marketing through social media – return on investment for using social media is constantly improving; retailers increasingly spend marketing dollars on social media ads. 
  • Cybersecurity – fraud is a growing concern for Canadian retailers. Tools that help companies detect and deter cybercriminals are becoming more easily available and affordable, with integration often built into a company’s strategic planning. 
  • Migration to mobile payments “mPOS (mobile Point-Of-Sale)” – continues to increase in Canada using technologies like Apple Pay, Android Pay, and Google Pay. 
  • Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) – enhances customer experience through personalized recommendations and improved customer service.
  • Augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) technology – bridging the gap between online and offline shopping by allowing consumers to visualize a product and make more informed purchasing decisions.
  • Environmental impact – sustainable products, ethical sourcing, eco-friendly packaging, and carbon-neutral shipping options are increasingly important to Canadian consumers.
    Although Canadians prefer to support Canadian online business, a sizable proportion of the nation’s eCommerce spending goes to non-Canadian websites. Various reports state that close to half of Canadian consumers’ online purchases are made at foreign retail sites. Canada has many small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), but the companies have been slow to enter the eCommerce industry. Canadians cite lower prices and better selection as some reasons for shopping outside the country. 
     

Due to Canada’s strong economy and proximity to the United States, retailers aspire to tap into the growing eCommerce market in Canada. For U.S. retailers who are selling beyond their borders for the first time, Canada offers an easy cross-border opportunity with similar taxes, fees, and shipping safety. How-to websites, such as CrossBorderShopping.ca, have also been created for the sole purpose of aiding Canadian consumers through the process, providing price comparison tools and outlining areas such as return policies, taxes, and restrictions. 

The major consumers “buying holidays” are like those in the United States: 

  • Valentine’s Day (February 14) 
  • Easter (March/April) 
  • Mother’s Day (May) 
  • Father’s Day (June) 
  • Back-to-School (August) 
  • Halloween (October 31) 
  • Christmas (December 25) 
  • Boxing Day (December 26) 


Canada also sees a rise in sales around the fourth quarter holidays, most notably Cyber Week, the buying period that begins on the United States Thanksgiving holiday, including Black Friday and Cyber Monday. 

Digital Marketing & Social Media 

Given rising internet penetration and expanding digital platforms, businesses are investing more in digital promotion than ever before. In Canada, digital media revenue is expected to hit US$13.14 billion by the end of 2024, up from US$11.54 billion in 2023 (approximately a 14% year-on-year increase). Search advertising remained the dominant format, accounting for 46.4% of total internet ad spend, while social media held the second-largest share at 26.8%. The remainder of digital ad spend was distributed across video, display, audio, classifieds, digital out-of-home, retail media, and other emerging formats

In terms of consumer preferences, young consumers have shown a greater trend toward mobile purchases and are more responsive to mobile ads. Another preference in Canada is for video advertising: according to Com Score, mobile commerce (m-commerce) is on the rise, given increasing mobile connectivity of smartphones and tablets. Digital advertising now has surpassed TV advertising revenues and is poised to become the favorite advertising venue in Canada. 

Recent data from Statista showed that market leader in social media, Facebook, accounted for 60% of all social media visits in March 2025, followed by Pinterest with 15.7%. Twitter ranked third with 9.8% of visits, and Instagram fourth with 7.2%. 

Online Payment 

There are several methods online vendors in Canada can use to collect payment. The most popular remain credit- and debit-card based options—via Interac Online or other processors, MasterPass, and PayPal—while some vendors also offer prepaid card or prepaid voucher options.

In 2023, credit cards held roughly 57% of all eCommerce transactions, with digital wallets capturing about 25%. By 2024, credit and debit cards together accounted for approximately 64% of the Canada e-commerce payment landscape—in terms of value—with credit cards contributing around 33% and debit cards around 30%. Looking ahead to 2025, credit cards are projected to remain dominant, comprising approximately 47% of online purchases. Meanwhile, digital payments overall—including mobile wallets, contactless, and other digital channels—are estimated to represent 86% of total payment volume, with credit and debit card usage increasingly occurring via digital wallet interfaces.

For more information on eCommerce in Canada, please contact Commercial Assistant Cat Le at cat.le@trade.gov.

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Global Business Navigator Chatbot Beta

Welcome to the Global Business Navigator, an artificial intelligence (AI) Chatbot from the International Trade Administration (ITA). This tool, currently in beta version testing, is designed to provide general information on the exporting process and the resources available to assist new and experienced U.S. exporters. The Chatbot, developed using Microsoft’s Azure AI services, is trained on ITA’s export-related content and aims to quickly get users the information they need. The Chatbot is intended to make the benefits of exporting more accessible by understanding non-expert language, idiomatic expressions, and foreign languages.

Limitations

As a beta product, the Chatbot is currently being tested and its responses may occasionally produce inaccurate or incomplete information. The Chatbot is trained to decline out of scope or inappropriate requests. The Chatbot’s knowledge is limited to the public information on the Export Solutions web pages of Trade.gov, which covers a wide range of topics on exporting. While it cannot provide responses specific to a company’s product or a specific foreign market, its reference pages will guide you to other relevant government resources and market research. Always double-check the Chatbot’s responses using the provided references or by visiting the Export Solutions web pages on Trade.gov. Do not use its responses as legal or professional advice. Inaccurate advice from the Chatbot would not be a defense to violating any export rules or regulations.

Privacy

The Chatbot does not collect information about users and does not use the contents of users’ chat history to learn new information. All feedback is anonymous. Please do not enter personally identifiable information (PII), sensitive, or proprietary information into the Chatbot. Your conversations will not be connected to other interactions or accounts with ITA. Conversations with the Chatbot may be reviewed to help ITA improve the tool and address harmful, illegal, or otherwise inappropriate questions.

Translation

The Chatbot supports a wide range of languages. Because the Chatbot is trained in English and responses are translated, you should verify the translation. For example, the Chatbot may have difficulty with acronyms, abbreviations, and nuances in a language other than English.

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