Canadians Shopping Online More

Some good news out of Stats Canada today ... Canadians placed $12.8 billion worth of orders online in 2007 - up 61% from 2005.

This increase was driven by a larger volume of orders, which rose from 49.4 million in 2005 to 69.9 million in 2007. The proportion of orders placed with Canadian vendors declined slightly from 57% of the total in 2005 to 52% in 2007.

More than 8.4 million Canadians aged 16 and over made an online purchase in 2007, up from nearly 6.9 million in 2005. They accounted for 32% of Canadians in this age group, compared with 28% in 2005.

From a regional perspective, Albertan Internet users were the heaviest online shoppers in 2007, with one-half placing an online order.

And the Internet continues to support offline retail.  43% of Canadians logged on to do research on products, and 64% reported that they had subsequently made a purchase directly from a store. The most popular items for browsing were consumer electronics, such as cameras and VCRs; housewares, such as large appliances and furniture; and clothing, jewelery and accessories.

For more info, see the report summary over at Stats Canada.