Mediaboss Marketing

TORONTO - Canada's Internet economy is expected to grow by 7.4 per cent a year through 2016, better than the country's overall GDP but still lagging many global peers, according to a new study commissioned by Google.

The international study, conducted for Google by Boston Consulting Group, found that the Internet accounted for about $49 billion or three per cent of Canada's GDP in 2010, the latest year for which information was available.

However, that was lower than the G20 average of about 4.1 per cent of GDP and put Canada ninth among the G20 pack.

By 2016, the online economy's percentage of Canadian GDP is expected to reach 3.6 per cent, falling further behind an expected G20's average of 5.3 per cent, the study said.

That means Canada will fall to 12th among G20 members, overtaken by Mexico and Saudi Arabia.

One setback is that Canadian online shopping isn't as robust as it is elsewhere in the world, said Tawfik Hammoud, partner and managing director at BCG.

Canada was in the top quartile of those countries surveyed when it comes to participation in social media and advertising online. In 2010, online advertising took 28.8 per cent of overall advertising market share, second only to television.

"There's been more shift of advertising dollars from the offline world to the online world than in most countries," Hammoud said.

Meanwhile, Canadian online retail sales lag, likely for reasons that include both consumer habits and business models.

There are gaps in Canadian consumer behaviour that Google is hoping to close, said Google executive Colin McKay.

Excerpt from:
Canadian Internet economy lags G20 peers, online shopping a drag: study