Canadian e-commerce sales growth will outpace that of the United States from now through at least 2016, according to new sales estimates from eMarketer. The research firm estimates Canadian e-commerce sales will grow 14.3% this year versus 13.8% in the United States. Sales growth is expected to slow each year through 2016, but Canada e-commerce sales growth will still run slightly ahead of the United States. Estimates put Canadian growth in 2016 at 11.0% and U.S. growth at 9.4%.

EMarketer estimates e-commerce sales in Canada will reach US$21.45 billion this year, while the U.S. sales will reach $343.43 billion, making Canada account for 5.9% of North American e-commerce sales. By 2016, Canada will generate $34.78 billion in online sales, accounting for approximately 6.3% of total North American e-commerce sales of $548.62 billion.

Approximately 80% of Canadians have access to the Internet and more than half ordered products and services on the web in 2010, according to Statistics Canada, the government agency that conducts the nation’s census and collects economic data. Canada has approximately 33.4 million people, making its population size about 10.7% of the United States.

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