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TigerDirect Expands Bitcoin Payments to Canada, Mobile Devices

TigerDirect
Technology retailer TigerDirect has announced that it is now accepting bitcoin payments via its Canadian e-commerce portal TigerDirect.ca and on all of its tablet and mobile devices.The company first announced that it would take bitcoin payments in January. At the time, TigerDirect said it was interested in offering its customers innovative methods of payment beyond traditional means. Since then, TigerDirect has reported more than $1m in bitcoin-denominated sales as of early March.TigerDirect is partnering with BitPay for the Canadian rollout, according to a statement from the company.Steven Leeds, TigerDirect’s marketing director, told CoinDesk the demand was high for bitcoin payments from Canadian customers:“The demand has remained constant with bitcoin purchasing on our TigerDirect.com site. The demand has not just been in products, it’s also been in social outreach. We’ve been in contact with our reddit community, and they’ve been asking us when this was going to be rolled out in Canada.”All of the site’s customers can also now purchases through the retailer’s tablet and mobile websites.Leeds added: “This is new for the US and Canada, we’ve rolled [bitcoin payments] out across all of our other platforms.”Positive community responseThe news about the company’s Canadian bitcoin adoption went public during a reddit Ask Me Anything held by TigerDirect. Prior to the start of the Q&A session, several community members quickly asked whether or not the company was planning such a move.The highest-rated question on the reddit AMA addressed this, with TigerDirect’s jubilant answer: “HOW DOES RIGHT NOW SOUND??” eliciting excitement from participating customers.One user suggested that bitcoin integration would enable Canada’s technology enthusiasts to acquire parts more easily when paying with digital currency, rather than driving into the US to pick up their hardware.TigerDirect strengthens bitcoin supportNotably, the move to accept bitcoin confirms an earlier suggestion that the company’s Canadian operations were actively considering integration.TigerDirect first hinted in April that it was looking into adding bitcoin payments for its Canadian customers. At the time, a temporary website header suggested that the company’s TigerDirect.ca portal would begin taking bitcoin payments by encouraging customers to “stay tuned”.When asked whether or not the company had more in store for digital currencies, Leeds suggested that TigerDirect has a “long-term roadmap” in regards to bitcoin.He explained:“TigerDirect is the only true omnichannel company in our industry, we have B2B, retail and online, so next steps going forward are rolling it out once we find the right partners for our B2B and retail. The customer wants it and we plan on delivering.”Disclaimer: CoinDesk founder Shakil Khan is an investor in BitPayImage via TigerDirect.caBitPayCanadaTigerDirect
Original author: Stan Higgins