Amazon.ca launched in 2002 and has since become Canada’s largest online retailer, accounting for seven percent of Canadian e-commerce sales.
According to research carried out by BMO Capital Markets, the website is on track to grab an even bigger share of the market.
Peter Sklar, who led the research, said:
“We believe that Amazon.ca could triple or quadruple its revenues in Canada over the next few years and begin to have a noticeable impact over a broader number of categories,”
In 2013 Amazon.ca accounted for $1.5 billion of Canadian e-commerce sales. Which is more than the combined sales of Walmart.ca, HomeDepot.ca, Bestbuy.ca, Thebay.com, and Chapters.indigo.ca, which (if all lumped together) accounted for $1.24 billion sales.
Canada’s second largest online retailer (in terms of sales) is costco.ca, reporting $352 million in e-commerce sales in 2013.
According to BMO Capital Markets, Amazon.ca was able to have more market share because of new product categories, features, and products, such as its new Amazon Prime service (offering customers free shipping for a $79 annual fee), Amazon Family (offers discounts on baby products), among other services.
However, Alex Arifuzzaman of Interstratics Consulting Inc., said that retailers across Canada have been upping their online presence. He said that “we can expect to see online more well-defended by Canadian retailers in the future,”
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. chief financial officer Charles Holley said that the company is preparing itself for a surge in e-commerce growth.
Internet sales will account for $12.5 billion of Walmart sales this year, and is forecast to increase by 25 percent in 2015.
Holley said:
“The greatest investment of capital and in operating loss for our e-commerce operations will come over the next 18 to 24 months, and then we would expect to see that investment start to moderate in fiscal 2018,”
