Canadian Retailer - Summer 2013 - 9

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RCC INFLUENCES pROGRESS REGARDING EAST COAST SUNDAY OpENING hOURS

Retailers in New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island
are now one step closer to being allowed to set their own
Sunday opening hours following months of advocacy by
Retail Council of Canada (RCC).
These advocacy efforts are particularly complicated as each province governs Sunday opening
hours differently – Prince Edward Islands opening
hours are determined by the provincial government,
whereas retail opening hours in New Brunswick are
determined by municipal governments.
RCC was recently successful in both the City
of Bathurst and the Town of Florenceville-Bristol,
New Brunswick where the by-law will be changed,
allowing retailers to determine their own opening
hours that work best for their business. In Fredericton a proposed new bylaw change will be brought to
City Council in August.
In PEI, RCC has secured the support of the Greater
Charlottetown & Area Chamber of Commerce on
this issue and is working with the other Chambers of
Commerce across both provinces to convince them
of the benefit in allowing retailers to choose their
own Sunday opening hours.
“This is an ongoing effort,” says Jim Cormier,
RCC’s Director, Atlantic Canada. “We’re making
progress. This is being driven by customer demand,
which has resulted in retailers operating in the provinces to push for choice in the matter. They want to
be able to choose their own opening hours.”
Cormier also notes that it’s a matter of principal
for some.
“Some retailers are asking why, in twenty-first
century Canada, when most people don’t work 9-5
Monday to Friday anymore, government is still tell-

ing businesses when they can and can’t open their
doors for business on Sunday.”
RCC is urging members of the association to “take
every opportunity to speak with elected officials
(municipal officials in New Brunswick/provincial officials in Prince Edward Island) in the New Brunswick
and PEI communities where business is conducted to
reinforce RCC messaging that it should be retailers,
not government, who determine the Sunday hours of
operation that work best for their business.
In the coming months, RCC will refocus its efforts
on bringing the Sunday opening hours issue in New
Brunswick to Saint John, the Campbellton area, and
Edmunston, and will continue its advocacy in Prince
Edward Island with the Minister, staff and the various Chambers of Commerce.
For more information regarding Sunday opening
hours in New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island,
contact: Jim Cormier, Director (Atlantic) at jcormier@
retailcouncil.org, or by phone at (902) 422-4144.

AMAzON pRIME DRIvING E-COMMERCE ExpECTATIONS

In early June, Amazon unveiled
a new version of its popular Prime,
which offers customers in Canada
and the United States unlimited
two-day shipping for $79 per year.
The company’s Prime Fresh, goes
one step further, promising unlimited same-day or next-day early
morning delivery of more than
500,000 items—including groceries—for $299 annually on orders
exceeding $35.
The Amazon Prime program
has been a massive success since
its launch, seeing membership

more than double over the past
two years. With the addition of
grocery to the list of products
available on the website, analysts
expect Prime membership to
triple over the next five years.
The announcement has been met
with skepticism within the industry
as to the viability of online grocery
retailing. However, the company
has been experimenting with the
model in the Seattle, Washington
area for a number of years.
As with standard Prime, Amazon is hoping to hook existing and

potential shoppers by offering a
free trial. The experiment will be
piloted in the Los Angeles area
where existing Amazon Prime
members will be given a free 90day trial of Prime Fresh.

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