Here’s some sad news for all of you Canadian online shoppers: If you haven’t already noticed HBC has shut down their online shopping. That’s right, no more ecommerce sites for Zellers, The Bay and Home Outfitters as of today. It’s news to me that just a few short weeks ago Canadian Tire also got rid of their online ordering.

I guess it makes sense if online shoppers mainly use the store website as a research or product comparison tool, then when they decide to purchase they get it directly from the store instead of ordering online to prevent high shipping charges for large items. The web stores weren’t doing as well as the companies have hoped. Add to the fact that HBC has announced a “restructuring” of the company, over 1000 positions have been eliminated in Canada.

An ecommerce strategy will be developed in the near future in terms of a relaunch of all HBC’s banners.

Not that I purchased a lot of items from either company online… but it’s always nice to shop from the comfort of your own home (and even know that your product will be there for you if you want to pick it up in store).