E-commerce measurements and analysis

The use of information and communications technologies and e-commerce in particular has often been cited as a significant factor in generating and sustaining economic growth. With the burst of the dot.com bubble in 2000, this exuberance was deflated and the pendulum swung the other way. Nevertheless, despite the fact that many of the early, exuberant and perhaps self-interested predictions of growth and impact have proven incorrect, there remains little argument that e-commerce is having, and will have, a significant transformative effect on economic and social activities and relationships throughout the world. These impacts present great opportunities, but also great challenges for all countries. An indispensable ingredient in addressing such challenges, and exploiting the opportunities, is reliable, consistent, internationally-comparable data. Initially, many countries were slow to establish e-commerce or even ICT measurement programmes. Others may have been caught up in the enthusiasm and rushed to collect core numbers without considering how they would be used or how they could be compared internationally. In that regard, defining e-commerce has been the source of much debate. The good news though is that international forums did exist to discuss and develop standards, and internationally-accepted definitions were put in place before legacy measurement programmes became too entrenched in individual countries. This Paper describes the Canadian experience, largely that of Statistics Canada, the national statistical agency, in developing and implementing measures of electronic commerce. Both the international and national contexts within which the Canadian programmes have developed are briefly described prior to setting out some of the e-business basics in terms of definitions and coverage. The Canadian data programmes themselves are described along with highlights of recent data releases. Finally there is a discussion of data gaps or outstanding issues as well as some speculation on future directions and initiatives for the electronic commerce measurement programme in Canada.