Despite the rise of ecommerce worldwide, Canadian businesses were relatively slow to shift towards digital sales. Major U.S. ecommerce players capitalized on this gap. In 2023, six out of ten of the leading ecommerce businesses in Canada were headquartered in the United States.
However, Canadian ecommerce is picking up pace. In 2022, there were over 27 million eCommerce users in Canada, accounting for 75% of the Canadian population. This number is expected to grow to 77.6% in 2025, and by 2029, the Canadian ecommerce market is forecast to nearly double, reaching over 104 billion U.S. dollars.
New and emerging ecommerce businesses have tremendous growth opportunities in this rapidly evolving market. In this article, we’ll provide valuable insights into trending ecommerce ideas, offering a roadmap for launching a successful online business.
Are ecommerce businesses disrupting high-street retail?
Canada, like any other developed country, is becoming an 'online culture' with over 94% of the population being internet users, of which 99.2% use their mobiles to go online. And though the Canadian ecommerce market was trailing compared to the United States and the United Kingdom, it has now gathered steam.
The Chinese ecommerce giant PDD Holdings, owner of Pinduoduo Inc. and the popular online marketplace Temu, entered the Canadian ecommerce market in February 2023. The app that tells consumers to 'Shop Like A Billionaire' has courted controversy in Canada, but that hasn't stopped Temu from becoming the No.1 app in Canada.
David Soberman, professor at the University of Toronto Rotman School of Management, said: "Temu is going to be disruptive to local retailers. There's always going to be a role for traditional retailers. But if it's something very standardized, you know that you can order it online at probably half the price. And if you don’t need it right away, you are going to end up ordering it online.”
What does this mean for high-street retail? Brick-and-mortar retail stores must recognize the increasing importance of online sales and adapt to digital transformation to compete with ecommerce businesses.
With this in mind, let's look at different types of digital and ecommerce businesses, online business ideas and emerging ecommerce trends you can leverage to buy or start an ecommerce business.
Trending ecommerce business ideas Canada 2024
Print on Demand
Print-on-demand is an ecommerce business model where designs are digitally printed on demand on products like apparel, merchandise, accessories, home decor, etc. It's a great online business idea if you do not want to stock inventory.
To get started, you need to:
- Set up an ecommerce store or create an online store on marketplaces like Etsy or Amazon.
- Connect your online store to a print-on-demand provider like Printify, Gelato, etc. These PoD services offer a wide range of products that can be customised.
- Create custom designs, add them to products of your choice and list them online.
Once you have a sale, the entire order fulfilment, from printing to shipping, is handled by the PoD service.
Dropshipping business
Dropshipping is an ecommerce business model where the seller is not required to stock inventory. Your dropship supplier stocks your products and ships them when you get an order.
The benefits of dropshipping as an ecommerce business idea are low start-up costs, easy scalability and the freedom to test new products without risk.
Books, coffee and home decor are some of the most popular products to dropship.
Apps
With over 6.3 billion smartphone users globally, it is no surprise that the mobile app market is booming! Mobile apps are expected to generate over $935 billion in revenue in 2024. There is an app for almost everything and every industry today.
If you want to start an online business, you could consider buying a pre-built app in a niche you are passionate about. App developers sell their apps for several reasons, the most common being project fatigue and the desire to innovate.
Once you buy an app, you can invest in marketing it and eventually build the user base and a steady revenue stream by offering in-app purchases, premium features, or a freemium version.
Amazon FBA Store
Fulfilled by Amazon (FBA) is an all-in-one ecommerce business solution offered by Amazon. As a seller, you only need to ship your products to Amazon Fulfilment Centers. They will store, pack, ship, and deliver your product when a customer finalises an order on your Amazon store.
The benefits of an FBA ecommerce business model are:
- Fast and low-cost shipping
- No stress about renting a warehouse or storage space
- Excellent customer service offered by Amazon
- The Amazon team expertly manages returns and refunds
Amazon FBM Store
Fulfilled by Merchant (FBM), as the name suggests, is an order fulfilment method where you, the merchant, are responsible for stocking inventory and shipping the orders, either yourself or by partnering with a third-party logistics provider.
If you are a new merchant selling on Amazon, FBM will probably be the only method available, as FBA approvals take time.
Amazon KDP
Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) is Amazon's ebook publishing platform. This is a great online business idea for passionate and budding writers. If you love to write, you can self-publish your ebooks on Amazon for free. Kindle readers can download your ebook, or Amazon also offers a print-on-demand service where they print a paperback and ship it to your customer.
BigCommerce Store
Founded in 2009, BigCommerce has become the first choice of many top retailers like Superdry Australia, Skullcandy, La Perla and more. While this fully hosted ecommerce platform is preferred by major brands, they also offer solutions aimed at smaller ecommerce businesses, providing flexibility, scalability and security at affordable price plans.
Shopify Store
Shopify completely changed the ecommerce game and made it accessible for anyone to start an ecommerce business. Shopify's ecommerce platform, featuring a user-friendly drag-and-drop interface, is one of the most convenient platforms for creating a store and launching an online business.
Great Lakes Brewing Co., owned by Peter Bulut, faced a beer surplus when pubs closed during the pandemic. To sell and deliver the excess beer, Bulut sought assistance from Shopify to set up an ecommerce store. Within a week, they were processing 500 orders per day, surpassing pre-pandemic sales by 15%.
SaaS Platform
Purchasing an existing SaaS platform allows you to skip the start-up hiccups and procure a business in its growth stage with an established customer base, brand value and revenue stream.
Still undecided? Here are some SaaS businesses for sale on our platform.
Content Websites
A content website is a site that is a library of content built around a particular topic, sometimes referred to as a blog, niche site or an authority website. The goal of a content website is to create high-value content that attracts tons of traffic and then monetise that traffic.
Conclusion
Driven by rapid changes in technology and globalisation, the ecommerce industry is poised for robust growth. Predicted to achieve an annual growth rate (CAGR 2024-2029) of 9.36%, with user penetration expected to reach 84.4% by 2029, the opportunities are substantial.
These compelling statistics make 2024 an ideal time to start or buy an ecommerce business. If you’re interested in the latter, read our Guide to Buying an Online Business for more detailed information.
Ecommerce FAQs
Which are the top ecommerce companies in the world?
Amazon, with a revenue of $574.785 billion in 2023, is by far the largest ecommerce company in the world. Walmart, Home Depot and Ali Baba are some of the top ecommerce businesses globally.
Which is the most popular ecommerce business in Canada?
With an estimated 44 million visitors per month, Amazon takes the top spot, followed by eBay and Canadian Tire.
What is the best ecommerce business to start in 2024?
Electronics, fashion and apparel, and food are the top three ecommerce product categories in the world. If you want to start an ecommerce business, there is a huge growth potential in any of these 3 categories.