58% of Canada’s population is online, lagging slightly behind U.S.
About 58% of Canada’s population is online, only slightly behind the U.S. penetration rate of 63%, according to a new report from eMarketer Inc.
Canadian broadband growth has exceeded the U.S. rate, with 59% of Canadian households connected via a high-speed Internet connection, compared with 44% of U.S. households, eMarketer says.
However, while Canadians are active online searchers and shoppers, only 59% of Internet users in Canada buy online, compared with 66% of U.S. users.
But Canadian interest in online shopping is growing, eMarketer says, citing Statistics Canada estimates that total e-commerce sales were C$39.2 billion (US$32.4 billion) last year, a 38.4% increase from 2004. That was the fourth year in a row that the overall value of e-commerce sales in Canada increased by 38% or more.
The increase in online sales was six times the increase in overall retail sales in Canada in 2005, eMarketer says.
Statistics Canada also found that 42% of Canadian retailers had a web site in 2005, up from 38% in 2004.
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