Forty eight per cent of Canadian online shoppers will look to the World Wide Web in the lead up to Labour Day and one in six will search for their back-to-school buys online.

According to a July 2009 survey of Canadian online shoppers commissioned by Visa Canada , of the 48 per cent who intend to shop online between now and Labour Day, one-third expect to spend more online than in the same period last year. With the average estimated online spend before Labour Day totalling approximately $600, survey respondents said they are turning to the Internet because of its convenience (35 per cent), better prices (40 per cent) and superior selection (26 per cent).

One in six online shoppers will shop for classic back-to-school must-haves online; including books (25 per cent), computers (22 per cent), backpacks (10 per cent) and other supplies. Forty per cent of online shoppers indicated plans to purchase clothing and shoes for back-to-school. Online shoppers plan to spend an average of $318 on back to school purchases, slightly above what will be spent in retail stores. Four in 10 online shoppers plan to also shop for back-to-school goods in retail stores, where they expect to spend an average of $298.

“It‘s interesting that the spend in-stores and online is so similar,” said Stephanie Wallat, Visa Canada. “It could be a reflection that shoppers are targeting specific purchases online, looking for goods unavailable elsewhere and better prices.” Shopping in Canada and the U.S.

While Canadian online shoppers made an average of 7.1 purchases at Canadian sites in the past year, U.S. sites were also favoured with an average of 4.8 purchases. Shoppers cited variety (37 per cent), pricing (34 per cent) and availability (26 per cent) as the key incentives for shopping at U.S. sites.

For Visa cardholders wanting to purchase from American websites that don‘t currently ship to Canada, Visa is now working with a service called Borderlinx, which facilitates Canadian orders from U.S. only sites. Borderlinx also provides a useful calculator that will estimate the total cost of the purchase before you buy – including, taxes, duties, currency conversion and shipment costs to Canada – so you have enough information to make your final purchase decision. For additional savings, purchases from different websites can be consolidated by Borderlinx into one shipment for delivery to Canada. From now until the end of 2009, Visa cardholders will receive free registration and a 15 per cent discount on Borderlinx shipping. More information is available at www.visaperks.ca

“Borderlinx is a great option for those items you can‘t buy in Canada and can‘t get shipped here,” said Wallat.

Online layers of security
Many of the categories of merchandise most attractive to online shoppers are mirrored by the types of merchants that participate in the Verified by Visa^® program. Dell, Best Buy, Future Shop, TigerDirect, MDG (iStore), Bentley, The Source, Telus and Aldo are all participating in the program along with 2,000 other participating Canadian merchants.

The Verified by Visa service, which is supported by Visa-issuing financial institutions and participating merchants, helps provide another layer of security online for Visa cardholders. Free for consumers, the Verified by Visa program has been adopted by more than 200,000 merchants and 378 million Visa cardholders around the world. Canadian Visa cardholders can sign up for this program at their Visa card issuer‘s website, through visa.ca or when shopping at participating merchant websites.

The Verified by Visa service is just one of Visa‘s multiple layers of security designed for the eCommerce channel. Another layer that helps protect online merchants and cardholders shopping via the Web is the “three-digit code,” or CVV2, which is the number printed on the signature panel on the back of a Visa card. It helps to prove to the merchant that the cardholder has the card in his or her possession when ordering online or over the phone. AVS, or the Address Verification Service, helps ensure that the person making a purchase with a Visa card is the same person who receives the Visa card‘s monthly statement. Merchants begin the process by matching the address provided by the cardholder during check-out to the billing address the Visa card issuer has on file.

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About Visa
Visa Inc. operates the world's largest retail electronic payments network providing processing services and payment product platforms. This includes consumer credit, debit, prepaid and commercial payments, which are offered under the Visa, Visa Electron, Interlink and PLUS brands. Visa enjoys unsurpassed acceptance around the world, and Visa/PLUS is one of the world's largest global ATM networks, offering cash access in local currency in more than 170 countries. For more information, visit www.corporate.visa.com.

¹ For the Visa survey, conducted by The Research House, a total of 1,000 online shoppers were surveyed online between July 2-8, 2009. An unweighted probability sample of this size, with 100 per cent response rate, would have an estimated margin of error of plus or minus 3.2 percentage points, 19 times out of 20. Margin of error for subgroups will be larger.

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