Despite e-commerce expected to grow globally to about US$5-trillion by 2021 and 80 per cent of Canadian consumers pressing the ‘buy’ button, nearly half of all small- and medium-sized Canadian businesses either don’t have a website or don’t have an e-commerce functionality. Katherine Scarrow, general manager of The Globe and Mail’s Content Studio, discusses with Derrick Fung, CEO of Drop, and Robin Hamill, an independent Shopify and e-commerce consultant, about the reservations some SMBs have with going online and why they would rather stick to their brick-and-mortar business model.

For more on trends, challenges and opportunities for B2C e-commerce success, watch the full discussion here.

More videos from this series

The case for going online
Although some small- and medium-sized Canadian businesses are hesitant to go online, some have built their companies around a direct-to-consumer sales model, such as Mejuri, a fine jewellery brand for everyday wear by millennial women.

Choosing a carrier partner
When businesses are searching for a carrier partner to deliver its goods and services to consumers there are several factors to consider including coverage, variety, relationship building and ease of integration to its platform.

Selecting the right carrier partner
When selecting the right carrier to deliver a company’s goods and services, small- and medium-sized B2B organizations should consider several factors to ensure a seamless execution to their clients.

Paid acquisition versus retention
Should businesses be spending money on paid acquisition to promote their goods and services?

The buyer’s journey
A common misconception among B2B owners who are thinking of taking their business online is that their pricing needs to be visible for the customers to find – but it doesn’t.

Advertising feature produced by Globe Content Studio. The Globe’s editorial department was not involved.