No one likes to get left behind or miss an opportunity, but according to marketing specialist Ron Tite, of the Tite Group, that is exactly what is happening in Canada right now in the digital retailing space.
“There is a massive consumer gap that exists in this country,” said Tite. ”On one hand you have consumers who have absolute wonderful power in their pockets, they are ready to buy online.”
However, where he says things fall apart in Canada is that business are still trying to direct consumers to traditional point of purchase locations rather than meeting them where they want to do business.
“The gap that exists is with that reality and with the business offerings to meet that consumer demand, and they are not there,” he explains.
And that leaves the nascent Canadian e-retailing landscape exposed to foreign competitors who have already figured out the space. Because the consumer demand is there, U.S. retailers and global retailers are bridging the gap and meeting the need, Tite says.
And when that happens: “They’ll eat the lunch of every Canadian business in the category.”
Watch the whole interview above, plus other videos from Dx3 Canada 2013.