Category: Retail
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Sweet trends in Canada.
In its 2022 report, the National Confectioners Association (NCA) said that non-chocolate candy (defined as gummies, chewy candy, hard candy, licorice, lollipops, and marshmallows ) was last year’s second largest-selling confectionary category, accounting for 32% of all confectionary sales. These sweet treats rang up USD $9.2 billion in sales last year. That growth is expected…
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Want to sell to Canadians online? Read this first.
We often work with US-based online retailers excited about entering the Canadian market. While there are plenty of opportunities for online sales in Canada, customizing your website for your target market is vitally important for success. Below are some things you’ll need to address when building your Canadian web presence. Country-Level Domain Code. Every country…
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Opportunity alert: Canada’s natural, organic, and wellness sectors.
Trends seen in Canada’s natural, organic and wellness industries – spawned or accelerated by the pandemic – can offer new or increased opportunities for foreign food exporters. The pandemic laid bare the importance of increasing Canadians’ capacity to care for themselves. Eating healthier, focusing on mental health, and preventing illness became top consumer priorities. Subsequently,…
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Samples can benefit direct-to-consumer businesses
Brick-and-mortar shops are enjoying brisk business, and Forrester predicts that by 2024, 72% of retail sales in the U.S. will occur in physical stores (with similar trends in Canada). The reason? Customers want to test products before purchasing. A recent Marketing Brew article notes that while in-store shopping (and sampling) was unthinkable not too long…
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A note on credit card surcharge fees.
Merchants in Canada (except Quebec) may now add a surcharge fee to credit card transactions – the result of a recent class action settlement with Visa and Mastercard. Credit card companies charge merchants ‘interchange rates’ – a fee shared between credit card companies, payment processors, and banks. The rates vary from roughly 1% for basic…