VST

Let's talk about your next big project.

By submitting, you consent to VST processing your information in accordance with our Privacy Policy.
We take your privacy seriously.

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

VST
About Services Technologies Industries Partners Contacts

Building Exceptional Experiences Together

Our strategists, designers, architects, developers and quality analysts excel in every technology powering native, hybrid, cross-platform and custom software development.

Advisors, strategists, and engineers focused on people, above all else

To find out more, or to discuss any questions or queries with a VST expert, contact us by phone or email and we will connect you with the member of our team best qualified to help.

Our aim is to provide the most suitable services to each organization

Individual growth, career opportunities, excellent work environment, and cutting-edge software development projects are what we promise ourselves.

Our aim is to provide the most suitable solution and services to each organization.

Design and implement your project with the cloud computing experts behind hundreds of the world’s most advanced cloud initiatives

Controlling your projects work processes in the face of constant change reduces risk

Control Costs, Drive Profitability

Controlling your projects work processes in the face of constant change reduces risk

Cognitive Solutions for Every Business Use Case

We Bring Your Audience Closer to your Story

Connect your things and innovate your business

Innovate and explore new opportunities in your field with the aid of our machine learning consulting and development services

Turn your Product and Service into an innovative and interactive experience for customers

Improve efficiency and speed of your core business processes with an automation platform

Imagine your virtual presence at shops, concerts, fashion shows, doctor training, virtual surgery. Our VR team can make it happen

Strategic Digital Consulting

Generate & Close More Leads with Targeted Campaigns in an Automated Fashion

Driving Future Technology

We work with you to translate Business Problems into meaningful Business Solutions.

Enhance your website’s visibility through our customized SEO strategy

Let us manage your social media for you

Intuitive & Beautiful Design — Engineered to Endure.
Supercharge your organization’s capabilities, wow customers, and sharpen your competitive edge with smartly designed software.

Define, design and execute IT strategies that drive business growth

Expert guidance through annual risk assessments. Ensure continued compliance to standards, Avoid fines, penalties or losses. Successfully complete mandatory annual assessment

VST serves as a partner to help fulfill the cybersecurity needs at any organization

Trust, Confidence, and Resilience
Leading cybersecurity consulting services and innovative solutions to reduce our clients' risk exposure, enhance national security, and create business opportunity in the global marketplace.

Analyze Large Datasets and Boost Your Operational Efficiency

Business Automation Transforms Your Business and Customer Experience

Business Intelligence Solutions Driven by Power BI for Immersive Data Visualizations and Insights

Rapidly modernize applications, migrate the right workloads, and securely manage your multi-cloud environment

Turn compliance with internal standards and regulatory requirements from pain to gain

Accelerate your decision making with the data you already have

Build Efficient Data Warehousing for Successful BI Implementation

Build better products faster with our DevOps as a Service. DevOps can help your business ship new features and products at the pace of your customers’ demand

Take your brand online and grow your Business Online with our e-Commerce Services

Transform your technology core, while keeping your engine running

Our staff augmentation services ensure that you focus on your core business while we do the rest

Secure your cloud journey through pragmatic cyber security services

Reliable, secure, always-on business support

If peace of mind had a price tag, managed IT services is it.

Capitalize on our diversified capabilities of end-to-end product engineering services.

Get access to knowledgeable, fast IT help desk solutions to provide remote support to every important area of your business. 24x7 Global Help Desk Support Services

Software selections require the alignment of people, processes and technology to ensure that your organization is selecting the digital solutions that integrate into your culture and support your strategic vision

Business & IT as a strategy
Redesign and Realign the IT and the business

From software to web applications and line-of-business corporate web solutions to system level desktop utilities and large-scale corporate IT systems, we can bring to life any software idea you may have.

Consolidating Systems for Sinplified Solutions
We help businesses improve their potential by integrating all their systems, to a simple unified system that promises a headway for growth.

Reducing Cyber Risk for Organizations Worldwide
The only third-party cyber risk management solution security professionals need to confidently act on third-party cybersecurity risks

Take measures to safeguard your business processes, technology, and people

Protect IT assets with optimized and predictable IT Security

Build digital trust to enhance brand value and accelerate innovation

Stay ahead of threats and ensure industry compliance

We help global brands design and build superior digital products, enabling seamless user experiences across all modern platforms and devices.

VST's QA experts use the best practices and technologies to ensure the quality of your software development project and its timely and efficient implementation.

Full-service digital strategy and activation services designed to complement your team's performance

Digital Transformation

  • Big Data Consulting
  • Data Warehouse
  • Business Automation
  • Cloud Services
  • Data Management & Analytics
  • Business Intelligence & Visualization
  • Data Compliance
  • DevOps
  • e-Commerce
  • Enterprise Modernization

Advanced Tech

  • Augmented Reality
  • Virtual Reality
  • Mixed Reality
  • Robotic Process Automation
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Machine Learning
  • Internet of Things

IT Services

  • IT Infrastructure Services
  • Managed IT Services
  • Software Selection
  • Enterprise Solution Consulting
  • Software & Application Development
  • IT Product Development
  • IT Help Desk Outsourcing
  • Mobile Apps
  • System Integration
  • Quality Assurance & Testing
  • Staff Augmentation

Tech Advisory

  • IT Strategy Consulting
  • Cloud Strategy Consulting
  • Profitability and Cost Management
  • Project Management (PMO)
  • Change Management (OCM)

Security & Compliance

  • Cyber Security Consulting
  • Cyber Security Risk Assessment
  • Compliance Assessment & Readiness
  • Cloud Security
  • 3rd Party Security Assurance
  • Network & IT Security
  • Infrastructure Security
  • Application Security
  • Risks and Compliance

Branding & Marketing

  • Identity & Branding
  • Digital Marketing Strategy
  • UI & UX
  • Social Media Services
  • Search Engine Optimization
  • Experiments and Concepts
  • Email Marketing
  • Digital Media Services
  • Home
  • About
  • Services
  • Technologies
  • Industries
  • Partners
  • Insights & Blog
  • Careers
  • Contacts

E-commerce: B2B & B2C challenges for retail SMEs in Canada

February 11, 2021
Adil Shafique

Generally, small and medium retail businesses face a lot of challenges in the business world. Although e-commerce spending in Canada continues to rise in both a consumer retail and B2B context, the extent to which digital commerce is being utilized is relatively small, considering the large size of the country’s market. This article talks about the challenges for small and medium retail businesses in the Canadian business ecosystem.

Competitive climate

For a business to scale in the e-commerce sector, it must be ready to compete. The pricing model, the available products, and the ease of access need a constant update. “As a small business, you can overcome price competition by having a very clear company value proposition that consumers can’t get elsewhere,” says Calloway Cook, founder of Illuminate Labs. Hence, small and medium businesses lack the infrastructure to compete against the big names in the e-commerce industry. Notably, big platforms in the e-commerce space, have captured the Canadian market. To disrupt the grip of big e-commerce platforms in the Canadian business ecosystem, a strong competitor is needed; limiting what small and medium retail businesses can do.

Cybersecurity

“Small businesses that focus their attention in the e-commerce space need policies and procedures to create a solid cybersecurity framework for the organization. In the case of a cyberattack, a small business cannot afford to have downtime in operations and sales, because every transaction is a marginal financial success that the business depends on,” says Victor Congionti, chief information officer and co-founder at Proven Data. However, setting up a security framework is quite an expensive project for small and medium businesses based on their low revenue turnout. Additionally, maintaining the security protocol requires several external plugins or an expert-hire, an almost impossible cost for small and medium businesses in Canada.

Website traffic and sale conversion

Developing an e-commerce website with a fascinating UI is capital intensive, however, gaining quality is what justifies the cost. The days of casually stumbling on an e-commerce website are well behind us. With the e-commerce industry being overly saturated, the use of ads, SEO features are now being employed to generate platform visibility. Small and Medium businesses lack the funds to employ the technical know-how capable of generating quality traffic. 

Limited service variety

Small and Medium businesses in Canada operate a niche model. They tend to focus on a single section of products due to inadequate funding and support. However, many big players in the e-commerce industry have a wide range of collections that have earned them several customers around the globe. This is a great challenge to the status of the small and medium business as the tendencies of winning customers across a variety of markets is minimal.

Lack of capital for Digital scaling

Setting up a B2B or B2C e-commerce platform is a capital-intensive project. There is a need for a competitive user interface and a functional backend that guarantees the platform’s seamless operation. Small and medium scale businesses in Canada have limited funds to open up their businesses digitally. DCKAP notes the gap that still exists between Canada and the US in digital commerce. “The disparity in digital commerce activity between Canada and the United States is easy to account for when considering that approximately half of all Canadian small businesses still do not have a website to conduct sales” (DCKAP, 2020). Notably, E-commerce websites open your market visibility on a global scale, a lack of it can be a challenge to large scale market status.

Setting up multiple payment gateways

Buyers in B2B and B2C need multiple methods of payment. Incorporating these has been uphill for small and medium retail businesses in Canada. The flexibility in payment terms in B2B e-commerce is therefore absent, making it hard to keep customers happy and loyal.

Breaking the barriers

Many small and medium scale businesses have not been able to leverage the global visibility e-commerce presents due to several challenges. However, with more partnerships across the horizontal, they can now create a bigger platform that is strong enough to withstand the pulls of the market. Also, a gradual shift into Electronic commerce is a good move, as it further makes small businesses more prepared for the harsh E-commerce climate.

All Insights & Blogs

Data Warehouse: Everything you need to know about it

In recent years, the need to safeguard data for workflow and security purposes has skyrocketed. Databases solved the problems of data organization and structuring for a small to medium amount of data. However, larger data with multiple datasets require a more organized system of storage. The need to store this large and more complex information …

The Importance of Big Data Consulting in 2021

Multiple businesses and companies are dealing with data and the success of all their projects and operations depends on how efficient and good they can analyze the data. However, as business operations expand and demand rises, the data also increase in huge amounts, and using regular analytical tools may prove abortive to the objective of …

E-commerce: How to Grow Your Global Presence in 2021

The digital commerce market, when rightly set up is generally global. However, for an e-commerce platform to capture users globally, there are important things that need to be put in place. Notably, e-commerce businesses are expected to give the same experience, if not better, with brick shops. Now many businesses are beginning to shift towards …

Discover how VST can help your organization succeed

VST will help you improve your business operations with an optimal service or assist you in launching a product that would win customers fast.

Quick Links

Services We Offer

Quick Links

  • Home
  • About
  • Services
  • Technologies
  • Industries
  • Partners
  • Insights & Blog
  • Careers
  • Contacts

Download Brochure

Follow us

Follow us to get connected with us.

Services We Offer

Digital Transformation

  • Big Data Consulting
  • Data Warehouse
  • Business Automation
  • Cloud Services
  • Data Management & Analytics
  • Business Intelligence & Visualization
  • Data Compliance
  • DevOps
  • e-Commerce
  • Enterprise Modernization

Advanced Tech

  • Augmented Reality
  • Virtual Reality
  • Mixed Reality
  • Robotic Process Automation
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Machine Learning
  • Internet of Things

IT Services

  • IT Infrastructure Services
  • Managed IT Services
  • Software Selection
  • Enterprise Solution Consulting
  • Software & Application Development
  • IT Product Development
  • IT Help Desk Outsourcing
  • Mobile Apps
  • System Integration
  • Quality Assurance & Testing
  • Staff Augmentation

Tech Advisory

  • IT Strategy Consulting
  • Cloud Strategy Consulting
  • Profitability and Cost Management
  • Project Management (PMO)
  • Change Management (OCM)

Security & Compliance

  • Cyber Security Consulting
  • Cyber Security Risk Assessment
  • Compliance Assessment & Readiness
  • Cloud Security
  • 3rd Party Security Assurance
  • Network & IT Security
  • Infrastructure Security
  • Application Security
  • Risks and Compliance

Branding & Marketing

  • Identity & Branding
  • Digital Marketing Strategy
  • UI & UX
  • Social Media Services
  • Search Engine Optimization
  • Experiments and Concepts
  • Email Marketing
  • Digital Media Services

Branding & Marketing

  • Identity & Branding
  • Digital Marketing Strategy
  • UI & UX
  • Social Media Services
  • Search Engine Optimization
  • Experiments and Concepts
  • Email Marketing
  • Digital Media Services

Download Brochure

Follow us

Follow us to get connected with us.

Copyrights © 2001 - 2021 VST. All Rights Reserved.

  • Terms of Use
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookies Policies
  • Sitemap

Enter your email

and we’ll send you the brochure

Cookie Settings Center

  • Privacy Overview
  • Necessary Cookies
  • Analytics Cookies
  • See our Cookie Policy

Privacy Overview

We use cookies and other tracking technologies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website, analyse your use of our products and services, assist with our promotional and marketing efforts, and provide content from third parties. More info

Necessary Cookies

These cookies are necessary for the website to function and cannot be switched off in our systems. They are usually only set in response to actions made by you which amount to a request for services, such as setting your privacy preferences, logging in or filling in forms. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site may not work then.

Cookies used:

  • Google Analytics
  • Google Tag Manager
  • Cloudflare Performance and Security
Always Active

Analytics Cookies

These cookies allow us to count visits and traffic sources, so we can measure and improve the performance of our site. They help us know which pages are the most and least popular and see how visitors move around the site. All information these cookies collect is anonymous. If you do not allow these cookies, we will not know when you have visited our site.

Active
Accept All CookiesSave SettingsDecline Cookies
By continuing to browse or by clicking "Accept All Cookies" you agree to the storing of first and third-party cookies on your device to enhance site navigation, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts.
Cookie Policy
Cookie Settings
Accept All Cookies
By continuing to browse or by clicking "Accept All Cookies" you agree to the storing of first and third-party cookies on your device to enhance site navigation, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts.
Cookie Policy
Cookie Settings
Accept All Cookies