Books, travel and now Canali from Harry

Just a few years ago, Harry Rosen Inc found that consumers weren’t ready to buy its luxury men’s wear online. They worried about using credit cards on the Internet, and didn’t like to purchase clothes without trying them on first.

Lately, however, the retailer’s research has found attitudes have come around, so by next April the chain plans on finally launching an e-commerce site. One factor working in the company’s favour is that new, younger customers are already comfortable purchasing online and they’re at ease buying shoes and jeans, items that used to be a hard sell owing to sizing standards. Perhaps the most compelling thing Harry Rosen’s research came up with was that it could generate up to 10-per-cent more business with an e-shopping site.

"People aren’t afraid any more to shop online," chief executive officer Larry Rosen said in an interview. "We’ve reached the tipping point. We’re confident our customer is ready."

New data from Statistics Canada seem to support his views. They say more Canadians are using the Internet not only to buy books and book trips and concerts, but also to order apparel, jewellery and accessories.

In 2007, Canada’s shoppers placed almost $12.8-billion worth of orders online, up 61 per cent from 2005, Statscan found. Total retail sales in Canada for the year were $413.1-billion.

This is an excerpt taken from this Globe and Mail article, November 18th.