(NC) -- More Canadians are connected to the Internet per capita than almost any other country, but only recently are consumers catching on to the luxury of shopping online.

E-commerce sales this year will total $24.25 billion, but Canadian sales only make up 5.8% of total worldwide sales, according to eMarketer. Many major retailers in Canada don't offer online purchasing, but the market is growing rapidly as Canadian retailers are making the investment in online selling, particularly through multi-channel platforms. Another incentive is the rise in purchases being made through smartphones and tablets, boosting online shopping sales and creating a more favourable option for consumers.

“The evolving online capabilities available to Canadians are increasing, as is the usage,” says Simon Rodrigue, vice-president and general manager of e-commerce for Walmart Canada. “Users are becoming savvier and are seeking homegrown options, particularly during key shopping seasons such as the holidays.”

Walmart has recently re-entered the e-commerce space with the new www.walmart.ca. For a seamless online shopping experience, Rodrigue points to advanced site functionalities as the best-in-class search tool and a responsive design that works across multiple devices, plus the one-page checkout and guest checkout.

As more retailers enter into e-commerce and consumers adapt to using various digital applications in their everyday lives, online shopping will grow exponentially. It is expected that by 2017, as many as 71% of the country's internet users will purchase an item on a desktop computer or mobile device.