Nordic ecommerce grew by 11% in first half 2018

Ecommerce in the Nordic region has increased by 11 percent during the first six months of 2018, compared with the same period last year. Nordic consumers made online purchases worth 10 billion euros. The largest ecommerce country in the region is Sweden, with 4.12 billion euros.

Denmark follows with 2.49 billion euros, Norway with 2.24 billion and Finland with 1.22 billion. These numbers were presented in the E-commerce in the Nordics report [pdf] by PostNord. It also shows that six out of ten people (12 million consumers) in this region shop online each month in these Northern European countries. In Sweden, 66 percent of consumers shopped online, while in Finland only 45 percent did.

Good ecommerce conditions in the Nordics

“The conditions for selling and purchasing online are favorable in the Nordic region, given the population’s high level of ecommerce maturity, high internet penetration, well-built infrastructure and motivated ecommerce players”, PostNord writes.

Typical characteristics of Swedish consumers

Often, we read and write about “the Nordic region” like it’s one homogenous market. But it’s not, of course. Sweden is the largest ecommerce market in the region and its customers have the highest interested in physical shopping in city centers, as 29 percent of online shoppers made their last purchase there. Swedes also buy the most beauty and wellness products, represent the largest percentage to shop online from Germany and also have the highest share of online customers aged 18 to 29 years old.

Typical characteristics of Danish consumers

Consumers in Denmark have the highest interest in home deliveries that are left outside the door without confirmation, they are most used to the freedom of choice for deliveries and represent the largest percentage to shop online from the UK. Online consumers in Denmark also spend the most on groceries online and they are the most satisfied with delivery of an item they bought online.

Typical characteristics of Norwegian consumers

Consumers from Norway buy the most sports and leisure products, have the greatest interest in ecommerce platforms (as 60 percent of online shoppers buy from ecommerce platforms every month) and also have the greatest interest in shopping in physical shopping centers. One in four consumers who shopped online from abroad, brought products from the US. And 71 percent of Norwegians aged 18-29 shop online every month.

Typical characteristics of Finnish consumers

The highest percentage of consumers who have made their last online purchase via a computer can be found in Finland, which also has the highest percentage of ecommerce consumers who prefer delivery to a parcel machine (68 percent). Finnish consumers are also the biggest fans of buying clothes and shoes at foreign online stores, while they also spend the most on beauty and wellness per month. And consumers in Finland are the ones who shop online from Sweden the most (23 percent).

Cross-border shopping from the Nordics

Consumers in the Nordic region primarily shop abroad from China, the UK and Germany. It’s interesting that US is not in this top three list, as it’s the hottest ecommerce market globally. But in Norway, they do like to shop from the US, which may have something to do with the fact eBay is very popular among Norwegian online consumers.

In Denmark, the UK is the favorite country to shop online, while Swedes’ favorite has been Germany with 28 percent of online consumers having shopped from there this year. Of the Nordic countries, Sweden is obviously the most popular ecommerce destination in the eyes of Nordic consumers. Finnish consumers are particularly keen to shop online from Sweden.