Report from PostNord: better days are ahead for Nordic e-commerce

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Consequently, all Nordic countries, except Norway, had a negative e-commerce growth. Finland and Sweden had a yearly development of -2 percent, Denmark -1,9 percent and Norway 0,0 percent. As in most other European countries, the Nordic e-commerce markets peaked during the pandemic. Since then, it has been challenging to maintain sales growth and volumes in most product categories. The recession and the aftermath of the pandemic have created a difficult e-commerce climate; but brighter days seem to be on the way. The 2024 GDP prognosis is optimistic. The recession will most likely end in Norway and in Sweden during 2024. Denmark never really faced a recession in 2023, and the Finnish economy is forecasted to recover in early 2025. There are also optimistic signs from other markets, German e-commerce for example grew by 2,6 percent during the first quarter of 2024.
A recently published study from PostNord provides a picture of the Nordic online consumer's behavior and preferences in the spring of 2024.

Nordic consumers are highly digital

The consumers are digitally savvy and in all Nordic countries, at least 95 percent of the population has access to internet at home. Thereby, it is only natural that there is also a high degree of online shoppers in these countries. 82 percent of the northerners have shopped online in the past 30 days and out of those, 83 percent shop at least monthly. Among the countries, Sweden is by far the most popular country to shop from within the Nordics. In Sweden, Denmark is the Nordic country which is the most popular to shop from. The Nordic e-commerce market has grown rapidly the past decade. Since 2015, it has had a much stronger growth than the total retail market in all countries.

Swedish online shopping behavior

Sweden has the highest recent online shopping frequency among the Nordic online consumers. Almost nine out of ten Swedes have been shopping recently, and 88 percent do so every month. This has increased in recent years. In a similar study from 2019, 70 percent stated that they shopped every month. In the age span 18–29-year-old, 31 percent shop online at least once a week, while 23 percent of 50-64-year-old do so. There are also some differences between genders. 30 percent of women in Sweden shop at least once a week compared to 22 percent of the men. Clothing, footwear, and beauty products accounts for more than half of the e-commerce purchases. Since 2019, the interest in buying books and media online has decreased.

Swedish cross border purchases outside the Nordics

While nearby countries like Germany and the UK are popular markets to buy from, but most international purchases from Swedish consumers are made from China. 37 percent have bought goods from China during the past twelve months. In 2019 Germany was the most popular country to buy from, and China was in third place. When it comes to international marketplaces, Amazon, Zalando and Temu are the most popular ones for Swedish shoppers. Preferences vary with age since 46% of 18–29-year-olds bought something from Zalando in the last three months. Temu is however the most popular marketplace for 50-64-year-olds, from which 34% bought something the last three months.

Norwegian online shopping behavior

More than eight out of ten Norwegians have been shopping online recently, and 83 percent do so every month. In 2019 the recent month's shopping rate was 66 percent. In Norway the 30-49-year-old have the highest shopping frequency with 32 percent shopping at least once a week. There are small differences between genders: 23 percent of women shop online every week compared to 21 percent of men. More than a third of the most recent e-commerce purchases was made in the clothing and footwear category. Since 2019 beauty has advanced from a fourth to a second place.

Norwegian cross border purchases outside the Nordics

48 percent of Norwegians shop online from abroad at least once a month, an increase from 34% in 2019. The most frequent international shoppers are 18-29-year-olds, of whom 16 % buy something from abroad at least once a week. The most popular destinations to buy from outside the Nordics are China, the UK, and the United States. Men in Norway shops more from abroad than women do, 15 percent compared to 9 percent of respective gender.
Regarding international marketplaces, Temu, Zalando and eBay are the most popular online marketplaces for Norwegian shoppers. Temu is the most popular for 50-79-year-olds, however for the younger population Zalando is the first-hand choice.

Danish online shopping behavior

During the recent month, 80 percent of the Danish consumers made an online order. 84 percent shop online every month, compared with 62 percent who did so in 2019. Both 18-29-year-olds and 30-49-year-olds keep a high shopping frequency with 42% shopping online at least once a week. There are quite large differences between different age groups in Denmark; 41% of 18-29-year-olds shop online every week, while the Danish average is 31%. More than a third of the latest e-commerce purchases was in the clothing and footwear category. The second most popular category is home electronics for men and beauty & health for women.

Danish cross border purchases outside the Nordics

The Danish online consumers are the keenest cross border shoppers among the Nordic countries. As much as 54 percent of Danes shop online from abroad at least once a month, more than a doubling from 27 percent in 2019. As much as 72 percent of the 18–29-year-olds shop online from abroad every month, and 21 percent do so every week. It is more usual for men to shop from abroad every week, since 17 percent do so compared to 8 percent of women. Neighbouring Germany is the most popular destination, where about 40 percent make their international purchases. Second most popular country to buy from outside of the Nordics is China. The United Kingdom has lost its position as the most popular country to shop from since 2019 and comes in as number fourth. Zalando has a clear position as the most popular online marketplaces for Danish shoppers. However, 65-79-year-olds prefer to use Temu. 19 percent of them bought something from the marketplace in the last three months.

Finnish online shopping behavior

79% of the Finnish population shop online every month. 80 percent did so in the last month, up from 50 percent in 2019. Younger people shop online a lot more often than older people. 33 percent of 18-29-year-olds buy something online every week, but only 18 percent of the 30-49-year-olds do the same. In the oldest age group, consisting of 65-79-year-olds, only 9 percent shop online weekly. Clothing and footwear are the most popular product category to buy also in Finland. At the same time, beauty products, groceries, and home electronics make up for as much as 37 percent of the online purchases. Groceries has become more popular to buy online, up from the 6th most popular category in 2019.

Finnish cross border purchases outside the Nordics

39 percent of Finns shop online from abroad at least once a month. Among respondents 18-29 years old, 15 percent shop online from abroad every week. For the other age groups, less than 5 percent do so. Sweden is now the most popular destination to shop from and has advanced from the 3rd most popular country to shop from in 2019. If we look outside the Nordics, Germany is the country from which Finnish consumers shop the most, followed by China, the UK, and the US. Zalando has a clear position as the most popular online marketplaces for Finnish shoppers. It is the most popular marketplace for 18-29-year-olds, but for all other age groups Temu is the favourite.

Sustainability important to Nordic online consumers

Many of the Nordic countries are often seen as rather sustainable and on a list of the top ten most sustainable destinations, 8 of the top 10 destinations are in the Nordics. This is also the case when it comes to the Nordic consumers. 8 out of 10 Nordic consumers consider sustainability factors when shopping online. However, Finnish e-commerce consumers stand out as there are more consumers declaring that sustainability factors do not affect their online shopping. 28 percent of the consumers in Finland stated this, compared to a Nordic average of 21 percent. Swedish and Danish consumers consider sustainable materials as the most important sustainability factor when shopping online. Furthermore, consumers in Norway see fair working conditions as the primary sustainability factor when shopping online.

About the report:

The data presented in this report is based on four consumer surveys in the countries Sweden, Norway, Finland, and Denmark. The surveys were carried out in March and April 2024, and had 1 000 respondents in Sweden, Finland, and Denmark between the age of 18 - 79. The Norwegian survey had 974 respondents. All data shown in the report is based on these surveys, unless otherwise stated.

Free download of the report here:
https://www.postnord.com/insights/international-e-commerce-in-the-nordics-2024/