About 5 years ago LinkShare Symposium Canada started out as a small networking reception. At the time, the Canada Network contained only a few Advertisers and Publishers and it’s been great to see the event grow as the Canada Network itself grows. Year after year more Advertisers and Publishers are placing increased focus on the Canadian audience.
This year on October 4, 2011, the event graduated from being a networking event to an official LinkShare Symposium event that included content and networking. Many attendees that I spoke to remarked on their new or refreshed plans for Canada. That’s no surprise to us because we’ve seen great momentum in the Canada Network this year alone.
The event started with some facts and figures about e-commerce in Canada and the LinkShare Canada Network. Here are some highlights:
Internet Users and E-commerce in Canada
- 57% of Internet users will make at least one purchase this year and by 2015, 69% of internet users will be buyers
(eMarketer, Canada Retail eCommerce Forecast, February 2011) - Overall e-commerce in Canada is projected to grow at about 14% (CAGR) over the next 4 years (eMarketer, Canada Retail eCommerce Forecast, February 2011)
- Although Canada has fewer buyers when compared to larger markets like the U.S., Canada has the most engaged Internet user – spending more hours online and visiting more pages than any other country in the world.
(comScore 2010 Canada Digital Year in Review) - Canada is ranked 6th worldwide by time spent on social networks per visitor (comScore 2010 Canada Digital Year in Review)
- Canada ranked 7th worldwide in the number of unique visitors to Groupon
- Visits to many different types of Websites (from coupons, to fashion, to community and home-related sites) were up 30% or more YOY in 2010
(comScore 2010 Canada Digital Year in Review) - Loyalty is important in Canada! In 2010 there were over 120 million active loyalty memberships and growing at a rate of 4% YOY (2011 Colloquy Loyalty Census)
- Key takeaways: Canada is growing in the number of buyers and this market presents a great online merchandising opportunity!
The LinkShare Canada Network
- Over the past year, more than 16 new advertisers have joined the LinkShare Canada Network
- New signings to the Canada Network include Crate & Barrel, The Body Shop, Macy’s, Crocs, and Sierra Trading Post
- First half year-over-year same store sales in 2011 were up 90% or higher in the LinkShare Canada Network across a range of product categories
- The number of order active Publishers in the same period were up by 28%
- 500 new order active relationships have been created year-to-date
- Cyber Monday, Black Friday and Boxing Day are the biggest online shopping days in Canada – and consumers are starting their research earlier than ever before
- Canada Network data shows that on Black Friday shoppers started their online shopping at midnight continuing until traffic peaks at about noon on Saturday
- On Cyber Monday shoppers in Canada start their online buying in the morning and continue throughout the day when it peaks at about 11:00pm that evening
- Key takeaways: be ready and get your promotions in place early for when consumers begin their holiday research!
Panel Discussion
The content portion of the event closed with a great panel discussion that included Airmilsshops.ca, Dell Canada, ICE, and Coupons.ca. Here are some key takeaways from the discussion….
The Canadian Market
- The great brands joining the LinkShare Canada Network is fantastic news to Publishers
- Some Advertisers and Publishers have a dedicated French site but not all of them
- Advertisers and Publishers are working collaboratively on promotional materials in French
- Consider free or reduced shipping to Canada whenever possible to help increase conversion rates
Q4 Planning and Promotions
- For some Publishers Q4 planning is almost a year-long process beginning in February with analysis of the previous year
- To maximize sales Advertisers need to get their promotional plans and materials to Publishers earlier than ever before
- Some Advertisers have Publishers sign NDAs about holiday promotions
- High-end brands are promoting their offers on coupon sites without using the word “coupon” but by using copy such as “Special VIP Offers” instead
Mobile Commerce \ T-Commerce
- LinkShare was the first Affiliate Marketing Network to embrace mobile commerce
- All Advertisers and Publishers on the panel said they looking at the amount of traffic from smartphone and tablet devices
- All have seen a significant increase in mobile traffic including tablets in the last 3 months
- One panelist commented that for the first time – traffic from tablets has eclipsed traffic from smartphones
- All have significant mobile commerce plans in the works
- Takeaways: make Affiliate Marketing part of the Mobile Commerce conversation at your company; talk to your Affiliate Marketing partners about their mobile commerce plans and explore ways to work together; Advertisers should inform LinkShare of any changes to mobile sites and request that LinkShare tracking be implemented and tested
Social Marketing
- The Advertisers and Publishers on the panel all have social initiatives in place but not all are connected to the Affiliate channel
- Many continue to gain followers and use social marketing as a listening and branding tool
- ICE.com for example has over 250K Facebook fans and have a great blogging presence
- Takeaways: explore ways to include the Affiliate Marketing channel in your social marketing initiatives
As you can see from that summary we packed a lot of great content into this event!
The evening wrapped up with some great food and drinks and lots of networking at the Park Hyatt. If you have plans for Canada next year make sure to include LinkShare Symposium Canada 2012 in your travel budget!
A big THANK YOU to our attendees and panelists for making this a great event!
Scott Allan, Vice President of Marketing
