Canada Post has launched a Ca$1 million (€800,000) competition designed to recognise and rewardsuccessful innovation in e-commerce in Canada, and aiming to further boost the growing e-commerce
sector.E-commerce retailers will compete in five categories within the Canada Post E-commerceInnovation Awards for prize packages worth a total of $1 million. Prize packages include a freeshipping contract with Canada Post, a direct marketing mail campaign, and advertising on CanadaPost properties (online and on trucks and facilities).
Deepak Chopra, Canada Post President and CEO, commented: “For more than two centuries, CanadaPost has been the country’s largest enabler of remote trade and commerce and it is vital that welead the way for the future. We hope these awards will inspire entrepreneurs to create a whole newe-economy for Canadians.”
Canada Post is the market-share leader in Canada’s business-to-consumer (B2C) shipping market.An estimated $8 billion worth of physical goods is ordered online in Canada each year forresidential deliveries, and that figure is forecast to grow to more than $15 billion by 2016. Totalexpenditures on Canadian e-commerce business-to-consumer shipping services alone were more than$600 million in 2011.
With the help of a “blue-ribbon, expert panel of judges”, Canada Post will select the bestentrants and announce the winners on 16 October in Toronto. E-commerce retailers in Canada thatship to Canadian consumers are eligible to submit entries by 20 August 20 to one of the followingawards:
Best Multi-channel Retailer of the Year (large and small businesses); Best Online Retailer ofthe Year (large and small businesses); Best New E-business; Outside the Box Achievement Award,where entrants must show ground-breaking efforts that succeeded; Consumer Champion Award, chosen ina voting poll.
“More and more Canadians are ordering goods online, making B2C the fastest growing sector ine-commerce or retail, but there is a lot of room for growth before Canadians close the gap betweenthem and consumers in the US or UK,” added Chopra. “We know that there are still challenges fore-retailing in Canada and we think Canada Post can help by recognising and promotingsuccesses.”
