Canadian Tire Corp Ltd said on Thursday it would invest C$3.4 billion ($2.66 billion) over the next four years to boost its online business, as the retail chain looks to cash in on the pandemic-led consumer shift to e-commerce.

Scrambling to lure more customers and get a bigger share of their spend as competition grows, retailers are beefing up their online business and offering everything from attractive loyalty programs to personalized promotions online.

Toronto, Ontario-based Canadian Tire said it would expand its rewards program and rollout its premium annual membership across its stores nationwide, while also introducing over 12,000 new products under its owned brands by 2025.

Canadian Tire said it expects to grow same-store sales, excluding fuel, by more than 4% annually by 2025, with a profit target of more than C$26 per share. The company, which owns SportChek and Mark's store banners, reported earnings of C$18.38 per share last year.

The company said operating capital expenditures would come in around C$825 million to C$875 million this year.

It had recorded a nearly 30% surge in e-commerce sales last year.

($1 = 1.2803 Canadian dollars)

(Reporting by Deborah Sophia in Bengaluru; Editing by Shinjini Ganguli)