OTTAWA — Online sales increased at a double-digit pace for the sixth consecutive year in 2007.

Total private and public sector Internet sales hit an estimated $62.7 billion, up 26 per cent from 2006.

Statistics Canada says e-commerce still represents a relatively small fraction of total economic activity, despite its growth.

Online sales of private sector firms accounted for just under two per cent of total operating revenue last year, an increase from less than one per cent five years earlier.

While online sales increased, the proportion of private sector companies that sold goods and services online remained stable at about eight per cent, while about 16 per cent of the public sector reported e-commerce sales.

E-commerce by private sector firms increased 25 per cent to $58.2 billion, while public sector e-commerce rose 30 per cent to almost $4.5 billion.

In the private sector, business-to-business sales accounted for 62 per cent of online sales in 2007, down from 68 in 2006. The proportion of online business-to-consumer sales climbed to 38 per cent from 32.

It is estimated that customers outside Canada generated almost one out of every five dollars (19 per cent) in online sales in the private sector, similar to the last two years.