Thank you. So I'll dispense with most of the background on TABIA, but it's noteworthy that we are an umbrella organization representing 74 business improvement areas in the city of Toronto, with a membership of 35,000 businesses and property owners.
As was rightly noted by the speaker before me, 87% of the jobs created in this country are in fact among companies with 20 employees or less. That is what most of our membership represents. Mom and pop neighbourhood retail, commercial retail, whatever you want to call it, those are our members from across the city.
Retail, as we all know, is extremely reactive. If you really want to know how the economy is doing, look to retail. That's where people curb their spending first. I think it's very important to note also that the traditional main street retail has to be distinguished from some of the commerce that takes place out there. Effectively 67 cents out of every dollar spent in the locally owned store stays in the community. That 67 cents gets the economic spin-off that continues to support community initiatives, while only 47 cents of dollars spent in national chains and the large retail actually stays in the country, let alone in the community. So almost half actually leaves the country.
That's where part of the disconnect is, because as the economy is moving to where it is, it's becoming very obvious that e-commerce and new technologies are becoming significantly more important to what's happening out there. The one thing that we need to say on behalf of small neighbourhood business is that every time an auto plant closes and 400 jobs are lost on the line, all three levels of government—with due respect—throw money, technology, and policy at that issue to try to keep those jobs in place.
I can tell you from our experience and the experience of our brethren across the country that we lose hundreds of jobs a week on the main streets and neighbourhoods and downtowns across this country, and yet we seem to be that forgotten sector. So not only are there challenges from multinationals on traditional main streets, but we are also facing challenges of not really being recognized as the key components that we are of the economy.
A recent survey by Prosper Mobile Insights found that consumers are using smart phone technologies to their advantage, sometimes right there in the shopping stores. Forty to sixty percent of them price products while they're in the store with their iPhone technology, and 60% of them have actually left to purchase it elsewhere. So this technology is prominent. We are big users of it. We in Canada are highly engaged online. The average hours per visitor spent in Canada is 43 hours per week versus 23.1 hours worldwide. So we are actively engaged.
The other comment to make is that e-commerce spending has gone up. There was a 10% increase from 2011 to 2012 in the total expenditures using e-commerce. The number of transactions has actually gone up 17% in one year. That's more than a trend: it is a reality.
According to Statistics Canada, more than 80% of the Canadian population is online. It is no longer a young man's game; everybody out there has got the ability and the potential. As such, 20% of entrepreneurs admit that keeping up to date with technology is their number one challenge. So one in five people out there trying to make a living in the small business sector is finding that to be their challenge.
Merchant online and social media strategy can result in market growth and greater profitability. So we absolutely need to look at assisting this sector in meeting those needs. Only 39% of the entrepreneurs surveyed say that they use social media to promote their business. Only four out of ten—out of those 98% of people who employ jobs out there—are actually using that.
The technology keeps on moving forward. I only need to show the example of Amazon. We all know who Amazon is. Currently they capture one-third of online shopping, amounting to some $48 billion of revenue last year. The indications are that in the next decade—by the end of this coming decade—Amazon will in fact surpass Walmart as the world's largest retailer at $600 billion annually.
What's important, and what I don't think we can dismiss, is jobs. Jobs are a direct link. Just as an example of the importance of supporting our traditional main streets and small business in this country: for $1 million in sales, for Amazon or any of the e-commerce-based shopping networks out there, it takes one person to be employed to generate $1 million in sales. In the big box stores, which you may recognize as Walmart or Target or any of the big box retailers out there, it takes five people to generate $5 million in sales. As for the independents, the small neighbourhood retailers that are out there in many of the towns you guys come from—you know the people I'm talking about—it takes eight people to generate $1 million in sales. A direct link to employment is very, very important.
Just as a quick follow-up, according a recent Royal Bank of Canada report, only 46% of Canadian small businesses have dedicated websites. Less than half of those, about 22% of Canadian small businesses, sell their products and services through their website. So one in five people out there is actually at the stage where they can sell this. The most important thing is that 38% of those who sell via website generate over 25% of their revenue through online sales, with two in 10, some 22%, generating more than 50% of their annual revenue nowadays through their websites. It's becoming a very important component in retailing and the survival of many small businesses out there. The businesses that are the generators of a significant number of jobs, whether for young Canadians or new Canadians who come here to invest their life savings in opening a businesses here, these are the people who need the assistance that we're hoping this committee, in some of its directions, will generate.
Mr. Chairman, I will leave it at that for now and look forward to receiving any questions.