Retail ecommerce was thrust forward in 2020, mostly due to periodic stay-at-home measures enacted across the country. During mandated quarantines in the first wave of the pandemic and a second wave in the fall that coincided with the holiday shopping season, consumers shopped online to a degree they never had before. Retailers in Canada quickly adapted to these new conditions, setting them up for continued high volumes of online ordering in 2021.
Cat's out of the bag: Several non-pet-focused retailers have announced plans to start carrying pet products, as digital sales in the category boom amid record-high adoption rates.
Dropshipping can be luxurious too: Nordstrom is leaning into dropshipping as it looks to expand its product inventory over the next three to five years, potentially offering an option for those interested in luxury ecommerce.
Facebook and Shopify team up to boost social shopping: Shopify's checkout system is now available on Facebook and Instagram shops. That could help attract ecommerce merchants that already use Shopify and also make it easier for customers to shop on the social platforms.
This year, China will take a step in its digital transformation that once may have seemed almost unthinkable. We forecast that 52.1% of the country’s retail sales will come from ecommerce in 2021, up from 44.8% a year prior. That means that for the first time anywhere, a majority of retail sales for an entire country will transact online.