More Canadians are buying food online, StatsCan says

The amount spent a year in Canada buying groceries online remains infinitesimal but new numbers suggest Canadians are getting used to ordering food over the Internet.

A survey from Statistics Canada finds that 18 per cent of Canadians say they ordered food, beverages or groceries online last year.

That’s up from 11 per cent in 2010 when the survey was last conducted.

The survey doesn't specifically show whether online grocery shopping is growing.

That’s because the 18 per cent figure could includes online orders of pizza and other takeout or delivery, and even online wine orders.

In recent years, online delivery of restaurant food has become more prevalent. Fast-food restaurants like Pizza Hut take online orders and a host of takeout aggregator sites, such as JustEat.ca, have popped up in cities like Toronto, Calgary, Ottawa and Montreal.

Only a handful of companies offer grocery delivery. One of the largest is Toronto’s’ Grocery Gateway, which is part of the Longo’s chain.

Earlier this month, Walmart began to sell certain grocery products online.

Overall, Statistics Canada says that Canadians spent $18.9 billion ordering consumer goods online in 2012, up 24 per cent from 2010.

It said 56 per cent of Internet users ordered goods or services online in 2012, up from 51 per cent in 2010.

In 2012, 77 per cent of Internet users researched goods or services or window shopped.

Internet users aged 25 to 34 were most likely to make a purchase online.

The average Canadian online shopper made about 13 separate orders and spent approximately $1,450 in 2012.

Among online shoppers, 58 per cent bought travel arrangements such as airline tickets or hotel reservations and 52 per cent purchased event tickets.

Another 42 per cent purchased clothing, jewelry or accessories, and books online.