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Online shopping activity for Canada jumped between 2005 and 2007, with Albertans leading the pack, according to a new report by Statistics Canada.

Canadian consumers ordered $12.77-billion-worth of goods on the Internet last year, up 61.2 per cent from the total value recorded in 2005, with order volumes jumping to 69.9 million from 49.4 million.

Among the roughly 19.2 million Canadians aged 16 and over who used the Internet in 2007, 44 per cent made an online order, the report said, but Statistics Canada noted that most consumers prefer to go on the Internet to do research on products before making a purchase in-store.

In 2007, 43 per cent of Canadians researched their purchases online, with 64 per cent of those 'window shoppers' reporting that they had subsequently made a purchase directly from a store.

On a regional basis, Internet users from Alberta were the most likely to make an online purchase in that year, with about half placing an online order, while demographically, Internet users aged 25 to 34 were the heaviest online conumers, with about 51 per cent ordering online.

Statistics Canada noted that while a large majority of individuals aged 16 and 17 used the Internet in 2007, just 25 per cent made an online order, accounting for about two per cent of total online orders and one per cent of their dollar value.

While Canadians appeared to be more comfortable with paying for goods online – the proportion of Internet shoppers who paid directly online for some or all of their purchases rose to 82 per cent in 2007 from 27 per cent in 2005 – online consumers still expressed concern about credit card use on the Internet.

In 2007, half of all Canadians, whether or not they went online, reported that they were very concerned about online credit card use. The level of concern dropped to 34 per cent among those who had actually made an online order (with or without online payment).

However, among the top 25 per cent of online consumers, who spent an average of $5,000 in 2007, only 30 per cent said they were concerned about using their credit cards online. This group was also responsible for 46 per cent of all online orders and 78 per cent of the total dollar value.

Despite the rise in online shopping, the report had some bad news for Canadian companies – the proportion of orders placed with Canadian vendors declined slightly to 52 per cent of the total, from 57 per cent in 2005.

The report looked at the Internet use of 26,500 Canadians aged 16 and older for a 12-month period in 2007, although Statistics Canada cautioned that the 2005 numbers only included Internet users aged 18 and older.