April 22, 2005

New numbers released from Statistics Canada reveal a very sharp increase in online sales. However, the stats also indicate that B2B (business-to-business) eCommerce account for about 75 percent of all Internet transactions.

Online sales by Canadian companies and government departments grew almost 50% in 2004, Statistics Canada reported. But e-commerce still accounts for a tiny sliver (less than 1%) of total revenues among private businesses.

Statistics Canada said that private and public sector online sales increased 49.7% to C$28.3 billion. Online sales by private firms increased 45.5% to C$26.4 billion, while those by the public sector more than doubled to $1.9 billion.

Interestingly, the number of firms selling online was found to be unchanged at 7%. These tend to be larger businesses – they represent 27% of gross business income in Canada, the agency said.

Small- and medium-size Canadian merchants have been slow to invest in retail Web sites, while consumers have been skittish about buying online over concerns about financial security, eMarketer's report on Canadian e-commerce found.

Statistics Canada reported that B2B (business to business) sales represent the lion's share of e-commerce. B2B sales amounted to $19.8 billion, or about 75 percent of total e-commerce by private firms, up from 68 percent the year before.

Source: eMarketer.com