Canadian ecommerce order volumes grew 20 per cent in 2025, but that growth was concentrated among a small share of companies, according to a new study from marketing platform Omnisend that found the top 10 per cent of brands generated half of total order growth.
The report, based on analysis of more than 5,000 Canadian ecommerce brands, suggests that changes in shopper behaviour — including fewer interactions with marketing but higher purchase intent when shoppers did engage — played a significant role in determining which businesses benefited most from the rebound in online sales.
Growth concentrated among higher-performing brands
Ecommerce order volume across all sales channels in Canada rose 20 per cent year over year in 2025, Omnisend said in the report released Jan. 20. However, demand was unevenly distributed, with a relatively small group of higher-performing brands capturing a disproportionate share of the gains.
According to the study, the top 10 per cent of brands accounted for 50 per cent of total ecommerce order growth during the year, indicating that many businesses did not experience the same level of recovery.
“What we saw in 2025 reflects the broader economy — growth came back, but it didn’t reach everyone,” said Marty Bauer, ecommerce expert at Omnisend. “After years of inflation and uncertainty, people were still willing to spend, but they were much more intentional about where they spent their money. Brands that were able to react quickly to customer behavior had a clear advantage, while others found it harder to keep up.”
Shoppers clicked less, but spent more
The Omnisend data shows that Canadian shoppers interacted with marketing messages less frequently in 2025, but those interactions were more likely to lead to a purchase and to higher spending per order.
While overall click rates declined, shoppers who did click on promotions were 28 per cent more likely to complete a purchase than the year before, and they spent more on each order, according to the report.
Marketing performance data from Omnisend indicated that the value of each interaction increased as shoppers became more selective about when and where they engaged.
Year over year in Canada, the report found:
- Average order value from email rose from $172 to $196, a 14 per cent increase
- Average revenue per email increased by 41 per cent, from $0.12 to $0.17
- Email click-to-conversion increased by 28 per cent, rising from 6.23 per cent to 9.24 per cent
- Email click rates declined by 22 per cent
“Clicks became harder to get in 2025, but they also became more valuable,” Bauer said. “Shoppers were more selective, but when they did engage, they were ready to spend more. That’s why fewer interactions still produced more revenue — each click carried more intent than it did before. That shift rewarded brands that focused on efficiency and relevance, rather than volume.”
Automation captured a larger share of revenue
The report points to behaviour-based automated marketing as a key differentiator for brands that saw stronger growth, particularly as opportunities to reach customers became more limited.
Omnisend said automated, behaviour-based emails generated 27 per cent of total email revenue in Canada, despite accounting for just 2.1 per cent of total email sends. These messages are triggered by customer actions, such as browsing or abandoning a cart, rather than being sent on a fixed schedule.
“With fewer chances to reach customers, brands that could respond to buying intent in real time captured more demand,” the report said.
Key automation findings for Canada included:
- Automated emails generated 27 per cent of total email revenue while representing just 2.1 per cent of email sends
- Revenue per automated email send was $3.32, compared with $0.16 for scheduled email sends
Automated messages also showed higher conversion efficiency across multiple channels:
- Email click-to-conversion: automated 31.23 per cent; scheduled 9.24 per cent
- SMS click-to-conversion: automated 3.38 per cent; scheduled 0.89 per cent
- Push notification click-to-conversion: automated 20.21 per cent; scheduled 1.87 per cent
“Brands that relied on automation weren’t trying to convince people to buy — they were responding when customers had already shown intent,” Bauer said. “In a year when attention was limited and shoppers had more options than ever, that approach worked better. Automated messages performed well because they fit naturally into how people shop today, rather than interrupting them.”
Greg Zakowicz, Ecommerce Advisor at Omnisend, said the top brands are the ones that have focused on building trust with and providing value to customers. Instead of running a paid ad, capturing a sale, and repeating the cycle, the top brands have consistently focused on the customer relationship through high product quality, customer support, value-adds such as free shipping and returns, and engagement tactics like post-purchase email and SMS marketing.
“All together, this approach fosters customer trust and loyalty with brands, ensuring they are one of the first options customers consider when making a purchase. The data shows shoppers are clicking on marketing less often, yet converting at higher rates and spending more per order. What does this tell us about how Canadian consumers’ expectations and decision-making have evolved?
“This behavior points to the rise of the “buy it now” consumer. As economic factors strain household budgets, shoppers have become more thoughtful and purposeful with their purchases. Value has become one of, if not the, primary factors for buying. This has led to shoppers clicking on less marketing simply to browse. Instead, consumers now click on marketing when they need to buy something and see marketing that aligns with that need.”
When consumers click, they’re ready to make a purchase
When consumers click, they’re ready to make a purchase. Because shoppers seek value and purchase more from brands they trust, they tend to consolidate purchases with retailers, leading to higher average order values, added Zakowicz.
“Retailers should be constantly evaluating their campaigns’ performance metrics. For the longest time, brands over-emphasized the value of email marketing open rates. Strong open rates and low conversions are not a successful campaign. But when times are good, this is easy to overlook,” he said.
“Now, consumers have endless options for where to purchase products. Combined with the cost of paid social and search ads, focusing on conversion metrics can mean the difference in profitability. With email, for example, brands should look at click-to-open rate and click-to-conversion rate as leading metrics. When these metrics are strong, sales are happening. Sales matter, not views.”
Behaviour-based emails designed to move customer to next step
Zakowicz said behaviour-based automated emails work well.
“These messages work so well because they are naturally timely and relevant. Because they are behavior-based, meaning they only send when someone takes a specific action, the messages are sent at specific times in a customer journey. They’re designed to move the customer to the next step, whether it’s to return to the website, complete their purchase, or engage with the brand after a sale,” he said.
“The three most impactful automated messages are welcome messages, product abandonment, and cart abandonment, and it makes sense why. With welcome messages, they are new to the brand, and by signing up, they show an intent to engage further. Product abandonment indicates an intention to shop for a specific product or type of product. Cart abandonment shows they have identified what they want to buy, and it’s a matter of who they will buy it from.
“There are two primary mistakes I see companies make with these messages: the first is not reinforcing value in the messages. In each message, brands should reinforce company value-adds, including shipping and return policies, product quality, customer service, user-generated content such as testimonials and product reviews, and anything else that matters to shoppers. Showcasing these items builds trust and helps influence customers to shop.
“The second is paralysis by analysis. Too often, brands think they need to have a perfect series of messages before they begin sending them. They don’t. Retailers can always go back and refine and add messages as needed. The most important thing is to send them. Create one message, automate it, move to the next, and refine as you go. Taking it one simple step at a time allows brands to capture the value of the messages instead of sitting on the sidelines. In a time when sales are more difficult to come by, paralysis literally costs you money.”
Practical steps ecommerce brands can take to compete
“First, automate email and SMS messages. Email marketing providers have templatized messages and automation creation, making them as easy to create as clicking a few buttons — no experience necessary. Focus on the revenue-generating automations first: welcome, product abandonment, and cart abandonment. One at a time will pay dividends,” said Zakowicz.
“Second, with all messages they send, reinforce value-adds. These matter to shoppers, not only to capture immediate sales but to build ongoing trust.
“Third, focus on collecting email and mobile numbers. Email and SMS marketing continue to be high-ROI channels, without the fluctuating costs. As more shoppers turn to AI platforms as part of their shopping journeys, the ability to retarget shoppers becomes increasingly difficult. By collecting first-party data like email and SMS, brands have a direct line to shoppers without the inflated costs.
“Over the past 15 years, new technology has taken hold, and consumer behavior changed, yet at each step along the way, email marketing has become increasingly important and trusted by both consumers and brands.”
More from Retail Insider:
