Online sales had another year of healthy growth in Canada last year. But figures from Statistics Canada show that e-commerce still accounts for a fraction of firms' total revenues.

Canadian firms sold $39.2 billion worth of goods online in 2005. That was a 38-per -cent rise from 2004.

"To put this into perspective, the increase in online sales was six times the rise in overall retail sales in Canada in 2005," Statistics Canada said.

Only seven per cent of private Canadian companies sell over the internet. (CBC)

The agency said the percentage of retailers selling online didn't rise last year. The growth in the value of total e-commerce sales was due to online retailers selling "considerably" more.

But even with all that double-digit growth, Stats Can said e-commerce amounted to just over one per cent of total 2005 operating revenues for private firms.

Only seven per cent of all private firms sell their wares online and most firms (62 per cent) don't even have a website, Statistics Canada said.

Among firms that are selling online, more than 80 per cent of their sales are being made to Canadian customers.

Four sectors were responsible for about two-thirds of all online sales – wholesale trade, retail trade, transportation and warehousing, and manufacturing.

Private sector firms that didn't sell over the net gave two main reasons for not embracing e-business.

More than half of them said their products don't lend themselves to web selling. More than a third also said they just didn't want to change their basic business model.