According to a recent study released by the Canadian Internet Registration Authority (CIRA)^1 only 45.5% of Canadian businesses have a website. Among small businesses, only 41.1% have a website.

ComScore reported that e-commerce spending in Canada increased by 10% to $22.3 billion. The number of transactions were up 17% and 50% of Canadians used the internet to purchase a good or service online.

What do all of these numbers mean? The internet is a very important tool for consumers. If Canada follows the trend set by the United States and Great Britain, this will only increase.

Even if your product or service doesn’t lend itself to being sold over the internet, 74% of Canadians have used the internet to research a purchase that they eventually physically went into a store to purchase.

With services like Hover to register your domain name and Squarespace to build and host your website there really isn’t an excuse to not have a website. A simple one page website that lists your location and store hours is better than nothing. This can be had for less than $150/year. Those of you that have more complex needs may need to spend more to hire a website developer to get you the site you need. This is no longer something than can be ignored.

The world continues to change. I haven’t looked in the Yellow Pages to find a business in years. I’ll bet I’m not the only one. Don’t get left behind.