Top 10 e-commerce sites in Canada 2021

One of the most sophisticated countries for online shopping, Canada is a medium-populated but very solvable e-commerce market. Dominated by the great American e-commerce companies, Canada nonetheless has some digital space for some local players with an established foothold.

The Canadian internet and e-commerce landscape is comparable in quality to the United States: even though it only has 35 million internet users, a fraction of the US digital population, the affluence of the Canadians, and well-spread habits of using online shopping make it a sophisticated market. Canadians use both computers and mobile devices to shop online for a wide array of goods and services.

Since the Canadian market is technologically advanced and solvable, it is no surprise that the online competition is fierce. Given the market size advantage of American companies, Canadian e-commerce is dominated by US platforms operating through multiple segments, especially Amazon, which is by far the largest e-commerce player in Canada.

However, some traditional brick-and-mortar department stores, like Canadian Tire and Hudson’s Bay are still able to take a small share of the market. Some innovative new entrants, such as Etsy, also have been able to develop new segments for themselves in Canada and globally.

For more information on other world-leading e-commerce actors, check our series of posts on Top E-commerce Sites, and for more information on the country, read our articles on Top Business Resources for Canada.

List of top 10 Canadian e-commerce platforms with estimated traffic

To give you more perspective of the state of the market competition in the Canadian e-commerce landscape, here are the current top 10 leaders of e-commerce platforms in Canada in 2021 and their estimated monthly traffic from SimilarWeb, as of June 2021.

10. Newegg Canada

Newegg is an online retailer of computer hardware and software, consumer and professional electronics from multiple brands. Founded in the United States in 2001, Newegg has historically served both the US and Canada. It received an investment in 2016 for a majority stake by the Chinese tech company Liaison Interactive, before announcing a worldwide expansion plan.

Website: newegg.ca – Estimated monthly traffic: 2.95 Million visits

9. Hudson’s Bay

Hudson’s Bay, also known as The Bay, is a chain of department stores in Canada and the Netherlands. Having also developed online, Hudson’s Bay sells high-end fashion apparel, accessories, and home goods to Canadian digital customers.

Website: thebay.com – Estimated monthly traffic: 9.6 Million visits

8. Etsy Canada

Etsy is a marketplace focusing on handmade or vintage products and unique factory-manufactured items. It enables people and companies to sell a wide range of art and photography products, clothing and accessories, food, bath and beauty products, toys, and diverse other items.

Website: etsy.com/ca – Estimated monthly traffic: 21.3 Million visits (Etsy Canada’s traffic is estimated from the Canadian share of the Etsy website global traffic)

7. Best Buy Canada

Best Buy is a leading retailer specializing in consumer electronics in the United States, also operating in Canada and Mexico, and China through a subsidiary. Having developed its e-commerce shop, Best Buy sells its electronics and home appliances online to Canadian digital customers.

Website: bestbuy.ca – Estimated monthly traffic: 22.2 Million visits

6. Costco Canada

Costco Wholesale Corporation, more simply known as Costco, is an American multinational company operating a chain of warehouse clubs in more than ten countries, including Canada. Through its website, Costco sells a wide range of products: electronics, computers, furniture, outdoor living, appliances, jewelry, and more.

Website: costco.ca – Estimated monthly traffic: 25.5 Million visits

5. Home Depot Canada

Home Depot is the largest hardware and home improvement supplies retailing company in the United States, also operating in Canada and Mexico. In its brick-and-mortar shops and online store, Home Depot sells tools, construction products, home and garden equipment furniture, and associated services.

Website: homedepot.ca – Estimated monthly traffic: 35.1 Million visits

4. eBay Canada

A pioneer of e-commerce, eBay is an American online marketplace that allows people and businesses to sell directly through its online auction platform. Founded in 1995, eBay has expanded to more than 20 countries including Canada, organizing the sale of products ranging from cars and vehicles to electronics and fashion, home and garden to sports and toys, and even business and industrial products.

Website: ebay.ca – Estimated monthly traffic: 36.9 Million visits

3. Walmart Canada

Walmart is the world’s largest retail corporation, operating hypermarkets, department stores, and grocery stores. A leader in the United States, it is also engaged in Canada, Mexico, and a number of other countries through subsidiaries. Its online shop sells a diversified range of products, from food to electronics, from fashion to pharmacy, from home equipment to auto-parts.

Website: walmart.ca – Estimated monthly traffic: 41.6 Million visits

2. Canadian Tire

Canadian Tire is a company owning chains of retail stores of its own brand, as well as Mark’s, specialized in men, women, and work apparel; FGL Sports, specialized in sporting goods and sportswear; and PartSource, specialized in auto parts and accessories. Through its e-commerce store, Canadian Tire sells a wide range of automotive, hardware, sports and leisure, home products, toys, and food products.

Website: canadiantire.ca – Estimated monthly traffic: 43.9 Million visits

1. Amazon Canada

Founded in the US in 1994, Amazon started as an online bookstore that later diversified to products including media, electronics, apparel, furniture, food, toys, and jewelry. Having expanded to many countries, including Canada, Amazon has become the uncontested global leader of e-commerce with the world’s largest sales and profits. It develops further into brick-and-mortar retail with the acquisition of Whole Foods Market, as well as in publishing, electronics, cloud computing, video streaming, and a number of other businesses.

Website: amazon.ca – Estimated monthly traffic: 181 Million visits

Top e-commerce websites in Canada compared by monthly traffic

The estimated monthly traffic from the top 10 e-commerce platforms previously listed demonstrates the overarching lead of Amazon, which stands way above its followers at 180 million monthly visits. The pack of followers is well established in the range of traffic volumes from 3 to 45 million visits per month.

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Top brand conducting business through e-commerce in Canada

Besides these platforms operating through a wide array of products, one brand can also be highlighted for particularly standing out, thanks to a positioning and product range that made it succeed. Even though it is not an open platform for multiple products, brands, and categories, Lululemon weighs quite heavily in the Canadian e-commerce landscape, making large portions of its sales online, and in the United States, with over 10 million visits per month.

Here are the top e-commerce platforms in Canada. Have you ever bought goods or services from them? How was the experience, is the price cheaper and the delivery convenient? Let us know in the comments below!