Mobile eCommerce Beginning to Take Hold in Canada

TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwired - Nov. 18, 2014) - According to Visa Canada's new quarterly report, the Visa Canada Digital Commerce Index, just over one-quarter (26 per cent) of Canadians have used a mobile device to make an online purchase over the past three months. When it comes to offline purchases at retail outlets, 68 per cent of smartphone owners are aware of Near Field Communication (NFC) or Quick Response (QR) Codes, with 65 per cent likely to make NFC or QR payments over the next six months.

With most emerging technology trends there are often considerations that impede their initial rise to mainstream acceptance. Reasons for not using mobile devices for online purchasing range from ease of use and security concerns to simply not having thought about it. PCs on the other hand are favoured for their perceived convenience, speed of accessing the Internet, and security:



-- 76 per cent of PC purchasers choose to do so because it is easy to make
purchases online vs. 58 per cent of smartphone purchasers
-- 72 per cent of PC purchasers indicated that speed of internet connection
is a key consideration vs. 63 per cent of smartphone purchasers
-- 65 per cent of PC purchasers trust the security on their PC vs. 55 per
cent of smartphone purchasers



The top categories for online purchases across all devices (PCs, smartphone, tablets) are event tickets/entertainment, travel, and apparel/accessories. This closely mirrors what smartphone users identified in their top categories for smartphone purchases over the past three months with:



-- 38 per cent purchasing music, movies and video games
-- 38 per cent purchasing event tickets
-- 35 per cent apparel and accessories
-- 28 per cent books and magazines
-- 25 per cent toys and hobbies
-- 24 per cent travel transactions



"Canada is a world leader in mobile NFC and QR payments. It is very encouraging to see solid awareness of NFC payments as well as that upwards of 26 per cent of Canadians are beginning to use their mobile devices for online ecommerce payments," said Derek Colfer, Head of Innovation and Technology, Visa Canada. "The mobile industry has advanced incredibly over the past five years and with more consumer education and awareness, Canadians can look forward to fully embracing mobile commerce and payments within our market. The migration to mobile ecommerce payments is well underway."

About the Survey

The survey was commissioned by Visa Canada to gauge consumer preferences related to digital payments and was conducted by comScore. The findings are based on an online survey of 1,538 Canadians aged 18 and over, and was conducted from September 10-17, 2014. The margin of error for a survey of this size (1,538) is +/- 2.5 per cent.

About Visa

Visa Inc. V is a global payments technology company that connects consumers, businesses, financial institutions, and governments in more than 200 countries and territories to fast, secure and reliable electronic payments. We operate one of the world's most advanced processing networks - VisaNet - that is capable of handling more than 56,000 transaction messages a second, with fraud protection for consumers and assured payment for merchants. Visa is not a bank and does not issue cards, extend credit or set rates and fees for consumers. Visa's innovations, however, enable its financial institution customers to offer consumers more choices: pay now with debit, pay ahead of time with prepaid or pay later with credit products. For more information, visit corporate.visa.com and @VisaNewsCA.

About comScore

comScore, Inc. SCOR is a global leader in digital measurement and analytics, delivering insights on web, mobile and TV consumer behaviour that enable clients to maximize the value of their digital investments. For more information, please visit www.comscore.com/companyinfo.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT:
Media Contacts:
Stephanie Lewis
FleishmanHillard
416-645-3657
stephanie.lewis@fleishman.ca


Kathy Motton
Visa Canada
416-860-8865
kmotton@visa.com