The Potential of the Internet and Electronic Commerce ACNielsen began surveying Canadians about Internet access in 1996 and the data show that the Internet population in Canada is continuing to grow rapidly. By the spring of 1997, this user group had grown to 28.5 percent of Canadians and in the fall of 1997 it was 31 percent. An even larger group has access to the Internet but for some reason chooses not to use it. Growth in electronic commerce has been even more dramatic. Only 13 percent of Canadian Internet users, about four percent of the Canadian population, have made a purchase on-line.
Some Internet users do see the benefit of shopping on-line.
Purchasers are more likely to be male, have higher household incomes than average and see themselves as financial risk takers. The most popular Internet purchases are computer software and hardware, books and magazines, and CDs or cassettes. There is always some hesitancy involved in doing things a new way. Consumers' reluctance to embrace electronic commerce, however, reflects a deeper concern with key consumer protection issues that arise from this way of doing business. Consumers have six main concerns.