Canada Post delivered big prizes to nine of Canada’s most innovative ecommerce brands Monday night at the 4th annual Canada Post Ecommerce Innovation Awards gala in Toronto.
The winners, chosen by a jury of retail and ecommerce experts, will share a prize purse worth $1 million in the form of shipping services, customized direct marketing packages and data solutions and marketing exposure from Canada Post.
The nine winners are:
•Best Buy Canada in Best Omni-Channel Retailer, Large;
•Poppy Barley in Best Omni-Channel Retailer, Small;
•Frank & Oak in Best Online Shopping Experience, Large;
•Kayokoko Swimwear in Best Online Shopping Experience, Small;
•Thalmic Labs in Most Exciting Start-up;
•Nerd Block in Best Customer Engagement;
•Well.ca in Consumer Champion Award (awarded by Marketing);
•Shopify in Canada Post Ecommerce Innovator’s Award; and
•Manitobah Mukluks in Community Impact Award
The winners were chosen from 29 finalists, which in turn came from “hundreds of entries” this year, said Canada Post’s director media relations Anick Losier.
The prizes of shipping, marketing and DM services from Canada Post have enormous potential to change the businesses that win them, she said. Russ Montague won in 2012 for his “Shirt Punch” business and used his winnings to create Nerd Block, which won this year.
Launched in 2012, the awards were the brainchild of Canada Post president and CEO Deepak Chopra who believed that by creating an event to jumpstart ecommerce in Canada it would also help grow Canada Post’s business—more shipping of products from virtual storefronts meant more revenue for Canada Post, itself an enterprise under pressure with the digitization of the economy and communications.
“Canada was lagging among G8 countries when it came to ecommerce and Canada Post wanted to be a catalyst in enabling, promoting and helping small and large e-tailers grow and expand in this country,” said Losier.
Judge and Retail Council of Canada CEO Diane Brisebois has no doubt Canadian e-tailers have upped their game since the first awards were handed out.
“I think the progress in the last three years is staggering,” said Brisebois. The calibre of the entries has improved dramatically in that time, she said, not just the winners, but even the finalists. “Now we are starting to choose from the better and the best versus the beginner and the good,” she said.
Not only that, but Canadian retailers are also acting more boldly in the ecommerce space and taking more risks. “It was obvious that some of them weren’t as successful, but that is a sign of maturity, when you see that courage, that companies are trying new applications and new services,” she said.
Aside from reacting to a more competitive and borderless retail environment, retail CEOs now believe in the need for ecommerce and the technology is more accessible and less expensive, said Brisebois. “And it helps when one has a carrier such as Canada Post that covers the entire country from coast to coast and that acts as a fulfillment arm for retailers. Having national partners that understand and support ecommerce makes a huge difference.”
Today, Canada Post delivers two out of three parcels ordered online, said Losier. “We work directly with our customers to continually improve on the online customer experience, which is key. We see our role as enablers, but also brand ambassadors that deliver on our customers’ promise.”
