The dollar value of goods and services sold over the Internet by Canadian enterprises more than doubled between 2007 and 2012, according to Statistics Canada data released this morning.
Canadian businesses sold almost $122 billion online in 2012 – more than double the $58 billion in sales in 2007, the last time a survey of this kind was conducted.
Of the total sales, over 60% were in the manufacturing, wholesale trade and retail trade sectors.
The survey results showed that 11% of Canadian businesses sold online in 2012, compared with 8% in 2007.
The sectors with the highest percentages of firms selling online were:
- information and cultural industries (35.4%);
- educational services (30.2%);
- arts, entertainment and recreation (25.5%); and
- wholesale trade (21.3%).
The survey found that overall, e-commerce sales accounted for 4% of the total sales of goods and services by Canadian businesses.
Despite this increase, recent reports have said that e-commerce in Canada lags behind that in other countries.
