Canada Post E-commerce Innovation Awards Recap

On Tuesday October 16th Canada Post hosted the first ever E-commerce Innovation Awards in Toronto at the Fairmont Royal York hotel. The Awards show, which had been building significant buzz and anticipation over the last few months, was greeted with heavy enthusiasm from retailers, solution vendors, and industry professionals alike. 

Michael Benadiba, CEO of OrderDynamics, and Michael Turcsanyi, President of OrderDynamics

The ceremony got off to a great start as host James Duthie (of TSN fame) walked the audience through his (hilarious) attempts to impress his local Canada Post delivery agent with elaborate and obscure purchases. Duthie’s monologue and ongoing commentary helped keep the event fun and dynamic.

Canada Post eCommerce Awards Host, James Duthie

Shortly after the Awards ceremony began, Canada Post’s CEO and President Deepak Chopra addressed the audience and spoke to the growth of eCommerce in Canada, as well as emerging trends and opportunities that are developing among online shoppers (including this nugget: More than 50% of online purchases that are picked up in-store are done on weekends or on weekdays after 5pm).

Canada Post CEO and President Deepak Chopra

Mr. Chopra’s opening remarks also highlighted Canada Post’s ability to reinvent its business to meet changing times, particularly with its newer eCommerce and web services. His message, and Canada Post’s evolution in general, mirrors what retail and eCommerce industries are having to do in order to meet the needs of modern consumers.

(left to right) Michael Turcsanyi, Deepak Chopra, Michael Benadiba

Before recapping the award winners, we feel the need to highlight several key things. First, each envelope containing the winning retailer for its category was “delivered” by a Canada Post delivery agent in a small parcel package. Each delivery saw an agent walk through the audience and up to the stage to the Award presenter. It was a truly special and appropriate moment during the ceremony.

The second highlight – warning: this might serve as a small spoiler – Paige Malling, SVP of Marketing and Merchandising at Well.ca, accepted the Award for Best Online Retailer of the Year (on behalf of Well.ca), and had a terrific comment we felt was worth sharing. She noted that a young and rapidly emerging industry like eCommerce continually focuses on where businesses need to get to and future milestones. She followed this remark by adding that Canadian retailers (and solution providers, to a lesser extent) should take a moment to appreciate what they have already accomplished. Paige’s observation is an excellent example of this industry’s focus on improvement, but as we saw from last night, there are some amazing examples of innovation already happening across our industry.

Well.ca's Paige Malling accepting the Best Online Retailer Award

Without further delay, here are last night’s Canada Post E-commerce Innovation Award nominees and winners:

Best Multi-Channel Retailer of the Year

• Mountain Equipment Co-op (large)
• Rent frock Repeat (small)

Best Online Retailer of the Year

• Well.ca (large)
• Charm Junction (small)

Best New E-Business

• ShirtPunch 

Favourite E-commerce Retailer

• ShirtPunch

Outside of the Box Award

• Well.ca

(left to right) Award winners: ShirtPunch, Well.ca, Rent frock Repeat, Mountain Equipment Co-op

Congratulations to the nominees and winners last night. We also feel the need to send an extra special congrats to ShirtPunch. The passionate acceptance speeches from Founder Russ Montague stood out as a reminder of what this industry is all about: passion, drive, and innovation.

(left to right) OrderDynamics team: Kevin Butler, Jules Sukhabut, Michael Benadiba, Tammy Nyman

Finally, a special thank you goes out to Canada Post for hosting a terrific event last night. OrderDynamics is very proud of have been a sponsor at the inaugural Canada Post E-commerce Innovation Awards. We believe it’s so important to recognize the talent and innovation happening across the Canadian retail landscape. Last night’s Awards show reminded us how large of a void there was in recognizing outstanding Canadian accomplishments. We're already looking forward to the 2013 Canada Post E-commerce Innovation Awards!