Canada: internet-based sales not popular among small companies

Statistics Canada has released a survey which indicates that, for 2013, Canadian businesses sold over CAD 136 billion worth of goods and services online, registering an 11% increase over the USD 122 billion sold in 2012. 

Online sales accounted for a greater proportion of sales in general, as companies that sold online reported about 25% of overall revenues to come from internet-based customers.

Findings show that for 2013, 13% of companies that participated to the survey claimed selling goods and services via the internet, up from 11% in 2012. Also, 47% of Canadian businesses said they had purchased goods or services online sometime in 2013.

However, 54% of all Canadian companies still don’t have a website, and the year-over-year growth in online sales was mostly driven by large companies, with 61% of all wholesale trade, manufacturing and retail trade being recorded by organizations with 100 or more employees. These large companies took in USD 87 billion in total online sales, about 64% of the total.

Among the reasons for these numbers, companies cite a lack of skilled staff as a barrier to deeper use of technology, while another 30% say it’s just too expensive.

Check out our Cross-border Ecommerce Research section here for more info on country-specific ecommerce facts & figures, preferred payment methods, risk and fraud, as well as ecommerce legislation & regulation in Canada.