Article
Navigating the Digital Divide
Closing the gap for consumers
As retailers blur our border lines when it comes to accessibility to merchandise, understanding North American consumers is key. A new Deloitte survey shows Canadians and Americans have similar shopping preferences - especially when it comes to how they shop using digital channels.
More than 2,030 Canadians participated in our 2015 global survey exploring how consumers around the world are using, and want to use, digital devices and channels during their in-store shopping journey. The survey reveals that Canadian shoppers are just as keen to shop online as Americans, yet the overwhelming majority of Canadians still shop in brick-and-mortar stores.
The discrepancy in what consumers want and what they actually do illustrates the gap between how consumers want to shop and what retailers in fact provide. This divide is particularly pronounced in Canada in relation to the U.S., where retailers simply have more digital capability than those in Canada. Consumer expectations in digital are on the rise with rapidly increasing technological capabilities, and successful retailers need to act fast by adjusting their business models.