Did you know that Canadians .............................................

[Chris Ryser]

Three-quarters of Canadians research purchases online, but only 41% of small businesses have an online presence

OTTAWA, March 18, 2014 /CNW/ -Canadian small businesses, only 41.1 per cent of which have a website, may bemissing lucrative opportunities as Canadians come to rely on the Internet to help them make buying decisions, according to the 2014 Factbook from the Canadian Internet Registration Authority (www.CIRA.ca), the organization that manages the .CA domain.

• 87 per cent of Internet users consider it "somewhat important," or "very important" for Canadians to have .CA.
• Half of Canadians who expressed a preference also said they prefer .CA over .COM for business use, and for online activities that require the disclosure of personal information such as shopping or banking.
• 74 per cent of Canadians reported that they search online, and compare goods and services, before committing to a purchase.
• Only 45.5 per cent of Canadian businesses are online. This divide is particularly evident among small businesses, with only 41.1 per cent having a website, versus 91.8 per cent of large enterprises.
• Two out of every three dollars Canadians spend online go south of the border, and we lag the U.S. and the U.K. in terms of the percentage of our retail economy that is online (three per cent, versus seven and 23 per cent, respectively).

Other interesting highlights of the Factbook include:

• Only 62 per cent of Canadians in the lowest income quartile have Internet access, compared with 95 per cent of Canadians in the highest income quartile.
• The average Canadian visited 3,731 web pages per month last year, the highest in the world. We also ranked a close second behind the U.S. for the average number of hours spent online per user.

continue reading the report:
http://ca.finance.yahoo.com/news/can...140000924.html

[edKENdance]

That's all well and good Chris but I only sell glasses. Nobody is ever gonna buy those online.

[optimensch]

another way of looking at it : 85% of online ecommerce stores do not have a brick and mortar presence where people can walk in and get service!

[Golfnorth]

that's all well and good chris but i only sell glasses. Nobody is ever gonna buy those online.

lmfao!

[Chris Ryser]

If three quarters of purchase interested people research the products they want to buy, online, before they take the step.......................what have you done to steer them your way ?

[m0002a]

That's all well and good Chris but I only sell glasses. Nobody is ever gonna buy those online.

Don't you think that people research which brick and mortar retail stores to shop at via the internet? Yellow pages are obsolete, so it is critical for brick and mortar stores to have a website, if nothing else to post hours or operation, map/directions, etc. If I were buying progressives, I would also want to know what lens brands you dispense and have experience with (Zeiss, Hoya, Shamir, etc), and also what frame brands you typically carry. Gas is too expensive for people to drive around to every optical store to gather this info.

[Chris Ryser]

That's all well and good Chris but I only sell glasses. Nobody is ever gonna buy those online.

You had you own thread started the other week...........showing off your stores website. Why do you have a website and claim what you did above ?

[fjpod]

the internet is just a passing fad.

[optimensch]

When people come to our office for an eye exam and have purchased or are considering purchasing either contacts or glasses on line, they see our offers and very few walk out without purchasing from us. It is not hard to explain - overall we offer better value than any online can.

This is not to say that glasses and contacts are not being sold online, of course they are. However as ECPs adapt to the new retail landscape they are finding ways to compete. It is not that hard to do and frankly it becomes clear to many consumers that the web is not necessarily a better way to buy eyewear.

Online may be making the "pie" bigger - people trying it out to see what's up- this does not mean they are somehow "lost" to ecps forever - I've had MANY customers who have previously purchased online who come in for real glasses and services afterwards.

[edKENdance]

You had you own thread started the other week...........showing off your stores website. Why do you have a website and claim what you did above ?

Ugh Chris, I was being facetious. The intent of the other thread btw was for other stores that know the feeling of being damned if you do and damned if you don't of Facebook to garner a few more likes from peers on optiboard. Sort of a shame that nobody else posted a link.

[Chris Ryser]

Ugh Chris, I was being facetious. The intent of the other thread btw was for other stores that know the feeling of being damned if you do and damned if you don't of Facebook to garner a few more likes from peers on optiboard. Sort of a shame that nobody else posted a link.

edKENdance.................... you will not be damned if you do, ............ nor don't.

The internet is here to stay and get even more complex. I used to go to big shows for 20 years to show my stuff and used to come home with 25% of orders for the price the weekend cost me just in money, and saw maybe 150 people maximum.

There are hundreds of search engines that feed their results into Google. They each have their lists of websites to check, and they all send out newsletters with good and even free advice, and if you read them and follow their advice your little website will suddenly make it near to the top or at least on page one or two on suggested sources to a search by somebody.

I can not comment on Facebook and Twitter as I am not a member and have had no desire to be one.

fjpod[/COLOR]]

the internet is just a passing fad.

...................do you mean Beer made from Broccoli is better than soda water ? and will soon disapear again ? That is a totally wrong statement.

The internet is instant communication and if kept up to date it will be looked at as an interesting item. This above Canadian statistic is probably valid just anywhere. Today when little kids are messaging on their cell phone, we had to learn writing the hard way in school for year or two and on.

The same minute I will press the button "save" on this post some guy India will read this last post on OptiBoard.............that is no passing fad. It will just become fancier and bigger with time.

[edKENdance]

edKENdance.................... you will not be damned if you do, ............ nor don't.

Spoken like someone who doesn't have a facebook page.

[Chris Ryser]

cancelled