E-News

Canadians partial to dot-ca domain names
eBusiness Journal, January 2002, Vol. 4 No. 1
by Paul Fruitman

Canadians shopping online overwhelmingly want to support their own, according to results of a survey by the Canadian Internet Registration Authority (CIRA). Of the 1,078 Canadian Internet users surveyed, 70 per cent said they preferred to do their holiday shopping on dot-ca Web sites rather than dot-com sites. Seventy-one per cent said they prefer using services on dot-ca sites because they belong to Canadian organizations. Those surveyed constitute an established online panel representative of Canadian Internet users.

"There are some positive attributes, in the early days, associated with the dot-ca," said Allan Gregg, chairman of The Strategic Counsel, the research firm commissioned by CIRA to do the survey. He added that the reasons for dot-ca preference has little to do with issues like site security and technical quality, as dot-cas and dot-coms scored very well in these areas. "At this juncture, they have everything to do with pure emotionalism, i.e., pure nationalism."

Those surveyed also feel domestic businesses should show similar pride in their country by having dot-ca domain names for their sites. Initially, 81 per cent said Canadian businesses and organizations should use the dot-ca domains for the sites, and the figure rose to 92 per cent after respondents were told more about the dot-ca domain.

After being given more information, 77 per cent said when possible they would choose to shop on a dot-ca retail site instead of a dot-com site.

The findings seem to contradict the notion that dot-com domains are crucial to attract eyeballs and shopping dollars. Though more respondents recognized the dot-com than the dot-ca as being used by large and successful organizations, the majority of respondents associated those attributes with both domains rather than one or the other.

Judging by the growth in dot-ca domain registrations, organizations in Canada recognize the importance of being clearly Canadian. According to CIRA, dot-ca registrations have increased from 60,000 to 275,000 since the body took responsibility for the domain names in December 2000.

And according to the study, Canadians will be more apt to register dot-ca than dot-com domains in the future. Of the eight per cent who had registered a domain in the past 12 months, 57 per cent registered a dot-com and 58 per cent registered a dot-ca. But when asked what domain they would choose if they were registering today, 51 per cent said dot-ca and only 10 per cent said dot-com.