Are Canadian Consumers Our Cross-Border Buddies?

The MCM Outlook 2016 survey results are in… and it looks like Canadian consumers are U.S. merchants’ cross-border buddies.

Since the U.S.-Canada border is nearly 4,000 miles long, Canada makes perfect sense as the most-popular country U.S. merchants are selling into.

But here’s the rest of the top-5 answers:

As you see above, none of the BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China) made the top-5 in this MCM Outlook 2016 survey question, despite all the hype these four countries bring to U.S. merchants.

While Canada appears to be a quick win, there are cultural differences that make it a hard country to crack.

For example, remember that mention about a 4,000 mile border? How many kilometers is that? And how about the French-Canadian province of Quebec? Wait, there’s a second French-Canadian province (New Brunswick)? And then there’s the high cost of shipping parcels to Canada.

Simply put, Canada is far from being an extension of the United States.

From shipping costs to individual economies, there are valid reasons Brazil, Russia, India, and Russia are not solid targets for U.S. sellers. But with the strides retailers have made these past three years in rowing their global footprint, it’s kind of a shock that neither country cracked the top-5.

Tell us what you think: What countries are YOU selling into? We re-ask that survey question below. Please take a moment and give us your answers:

Tim Parry is Multichannel Merchant’s Managing Editor, and the lead programmer for Growing Global.