For English Canadian Web surfers, there’s no place like home. Particularly when it comes to shopping, banking and staying on top of the news.

That’s the conclusion of the latest report from digital media measurement firm Media Metrix Canada.

For the first time, the report has broken down its audience ratings by category, providing figures on Canadian Web usage in 27 vertical-interest categories, including retail, business/finance, news/information, and careers.

The report found that while Amazon.com might be the most popular retail site among Canadian Web surfers, homegrown sites ColumbiaHouseCanada.com, Chapters.ca and Sears.ca placed a respectable second, third and fifth in their class.

Similarly, RoyalBank.com, CanadaTrust.com, TDBank.ca, CIBC.com and Scotiabank.ca took the top five spots in the business/finance category, reaching a total of 36.4% of all unique visitors.

Brent Bernie, president of Media Metrix Canada, says the new category breakdowns were added to allow sites to see where they stand against their direct competitors.

The report also evaluated for the first time the "stickiness" of various kinds of sites, ranking them by the average number of minutes visitors spent there. Auction sites led the pack at 19.9 minutes per person per day.

Bernie says additional features will be introduced in subsequent reports, including a French-language sample to be released in June and a workplace sample to be released in July.

Media Metrix, which opened shop last fall, has been criticized by a number of major Canadian Web site operators, including Canoe.ca, for not taking into account French-language and workplace usage.

The Media Metrix report, based on data collected in March, derived its information from a panel of just under 5,000 home Internet users.

Strategy is on the ground in Cannes, bringing you the latest news, wins and conference highlights all week long. Catch all the coverage here.

Thursday’s batch of Silver and Bronze winners included the Creative Business Transformation, Creative Effectiveness, Creative Strategy, Luxury Lions, Brand Experience & Activation, Innovation and Creative Commerce Lions categories. Canadians were recognized with three Lions today: a Silver in Brand Experience & Activation, a Bronze in Creative Commerce and a Bronze in Creative Effectiveness. Rethink was awarded twice on Day 4, while Weber Shandwick rounded out the Canadian agency wins with one Lion. Below is a look at the work. Catch the Gold winners later this afternoon when they’re revealed at the gala in Cannes.

Creative Commerce (1 Silver)

1 SILVER: “U Up?” by Rethink for IKEA

IKEA’s “U Up?” campaign has legs, it turns out. The campaign is getting major love at Cannes. The IKEA work, created in collaboration with Rethink Toronto, added to its Cannes Lions tally with a Silver medal in Creative Commerce. That now makes five total Lions for the work, including two Golds on Wednesday night, for Direct and Socal & Creator. The campaign has been lauded by jurors for its dexterity, contextual timing and humour.

Creative Effectiveness (1 Bronze)

1 BRONZE: “Heinz Ketchup & Seemingly Ranch” by Rethink for Kraft Heinz 

Both Rethink and Kraft Heinz picked up another Lion, this one a Bronze in Creative Effectiveness for their collaboration on “Heinz Ketchup & Seemingly Ranch.” Not only did the work capture a culture moment spurred by Taylor Swift, but it also created a new product, “in under 24 hours,” to match. The latest two Lions makes 10 total wins for Rethink. Kraft Heinz and Rethink also picked up a rare Gold Lion for Media a day earlier.

Brand Experience & Activation (1 Bronze)

1 BRONZE: “Airbnb Icons” by Weber Shandwick for Airbnb

The Weber Shandwick work, “Airbnb Icons,” won Bronze on Thursday in Brand Experience & Activation after claiming a Bronze in Media Wednesday. Airbnb turned media brands into a destination, partnering with the likes of Marvel and Disney to offer travellers experiences like drifting off in the Up house or crashing at an X-Men mansion. The first 11 experiences rolled out mid-2024, and most of the experiences were free or under $100, with over 4,000 tickets sold by the end of the season.