New Study Shows Canadians Fiercely Loyal to Canadian Sites

Although cost is a key reason for seeking Canadian e-commerce sites, 86% say they do so because they want to keep money in Canada.

Canadians clearly have a preference for Canadian content and are very loyal to Canadian information and e-commerce sites, new research from the Angus Reid Group shows. In fact, 9 in 10 (86%) respondents to a new poll say the reason they buy from Canadian sites is because they want to keep money in Canada.

The study shows that among online Canadians who visit websites that include world news, 45% generally go to Canadian sites versus 7% who go to American sites. This pattern is replicated among those who visit sites that offer financial news (51% prefer Canadian sites compared to 4% who prefer American sites) and those who visit sites that offer sports news (36% generally go to Canadian sites versus 10% who prefer American sites), according to the results of an Angus Reid Group online survey conducted among 1,084 web users in late June. The only type of news information where there isn't a clear preference for Canadian versus American coverage is entertainment news (25% versus 18% respectively).

"This is good news for the Canadian Internet economy," said Chris Ferneyhough, a Senior Research Manager at the Angus Reid Group. "There is clearly a demand for Canadian sites that speak to Canadians with a Canadian point of view. Canadian nationalism is alive and well on the `net."

Additionally, despite the relative scarcity of Canadian websites, 58% of Canadians state that their favourite website is Canadian based. When asked to name their favourite Canadian website, there are some clear winners. One-in-five (20%) indicate their favourite site is Sympatico, 17% name Canoe, and Chapters.ca is listed by 14%. Other sites named include Globeandmail.com (9%), TSN.ca (7%), and canada.com (6%).

"The fact that over half of online Canadians indicate that their favourite sites are Canadian is something that Canadian web developers should be proud of," said Ferneyhough. "In terms of sheer quantity, there are so many more American sites than Canadian sites, and these sites typically have more resources in terms of venture capital, marketing dollars, and staffing. Despite this competitive imbalance, Canadian sites have been able to rise to the challenge."

As initially mentioned in a previous study, Canadians also have a clear preference for Canadian e-commerce sites, as 59% made their most recent online purchase at a Canadian website. Furthermore, 83% state that they look for a Canadian site when looking to make an online purchase. The end result: approximately $2.4 billion of the expected $4.1 billion that Canadians will spend online this year will be at Canadian websites. (more info).

While cost is a major issue that motivates Canadians to search out Canadian e-commerce sites, a strong sense of wanting to support the Canadian economy is also a contributing factor. The study shows that 93% of Canadian online purchasers who look specifically for Canadian e-commerce sites say that they do so because the exchange rate is too high, 86% agree that they do so because shipping costs associated with US purchases are too high, and 83% agree they look for Canadian sites because duty and tariffs are too high. However, a 86% agree that the reason they look to purchase from Canadian sites is because they want to keep money in Canada.

"The fact that Canadian sites keep money in Canada is a competitive advantage that should be strongly communicated on every Canadian e-commerce site," said Ferneyhough. "It doesn't matter what the demographic - male or female, young or old, east or west -- Canadians want to support the Canadian Internet economy by keeping dollars in Canada."

Although Canadian organizations were slower to embrace the Internet than American firms were, online Canadians do not feel that American sites are significantly better than Canadian sites. The study shows that 25% of online Canadians feel that Canadian sites are better than American sites, 19% feel that Canadian sites are worse, and over half can't tell if there is a difference (56%).

The "Canadian Inter@ctive Reid Report" is the largest, most comprehensive and authoritative source of its kind about quarterly Internet trends in Canada. The results are based on two separate data collection instruments. In the first, 1,084 web users from Angus Reid Group's Canadian Internet Panel are surveyed online. Panelists are chosen through random telephone surveys conducted on an ongoing basis across Canada. Results are complemented by a further 1,500 interviews via telephone with Canadian adults in order to verify results of the panel, and track issues among non-Internet users.

These data are statistically weighted to reflect the population proportions of regular online users by online expertise, and regional distribution, as well as demographics such as gender, age and income. Our panelists represent approximately 11.4 million Canadian adult Internet users who are online for one hour a week or more (there are a total of 15.3 million adults who have Internet access).

With a national sample of 1,000 and 1,500 (for each component), one can say with 95% certainty that the overall results are within a maximum of 177 3.1 percentage points of what they would have been had the entire population of Canada's regular online users been surveyed. The margin of error will be larger for sub-groupings of the survey population.

For more information on this news release, please contact:

Chris Ferneyhough
Senior Research Manager
Angus Reid Group
(604) 257-3200

To view charts, please download PDF's at top of page.