The bar chart illustrates the percentage of Canadian businesses across five distinct industries that engaged in e-commerce purchases between 2015 and 2019. Overall, there was a general upward trend in e-commerce adoption across all sectors, with the Information and Communications industry consistently maintaining the highest proportion of businesses making such purchases throughout the period.
In 2015, the Information and Communications sector led with 61% of businesses making e-commerce purchases, followed by Wholesale at 41%. Manufacturing and Retail both stood at 32%, while Construction had the lowest engagement at 23%. By 2019, these figures had risen significantly. The Information and Communications sector peaked at 74% in 2018 before dipping slightly to 69% in 2019. Similarly, the Wholesale sector saw a steady climb, reaching 62% by the end of the period.
Manufacturing and Construction showed the most dramatic growth. Manufacturing rose from 32% in 2015 to 58% in 2019, while Construction more than doubled its initial proportion, climbing from 23% to 55%. Retail also experienced substantial growth, rising from 32% to 56% over the same timeframe, despite a minor decline between 2018 and 2019.