Strong growth in the Nordic e-commerce market

Seven out of ten Nordic residents made online purchases in Q3 this year. The largest proportion of e-commerce consumers is in Norway (72%) and the smallest is in Finland (62%).

Norway does not only have the largest proportion of e-commerce consumers but also those who spend the most money. Nordic e-commerce consumers estimate that during the last quarter, they purchased goods online to a total value of SEK 34.5 billion. Norwegian e-commerce consumers spent an average of SEK 3,565 per quarter on e-commerce. The corresponding figure for Finland was SEK 2,285. Danish e-commerce consumers made online purchases for SEK 2,653 this quarter, and Swedish e-commerce consumers made purchases for SEK 2,864.

“The Nordic region is a mature e-commerce market, with the Norwegian e-commerce consumers leading the pack in terms of the number making online purchases and the amounts they shop for. In Finland e-commerce is slightly less developed at the moment, but there too we can see a positive trend,” says Arne Andersson, e-commerce expert at PostNord.

Thirty-three percent of Nordic consumers estimate that they will purchase Christmas gifts on the Internet this year to a total value of SEK 11 billion. This is probably quite a cautious forecast as 31 percent of consumers do not yet know whether they will be purchasing Christmas gifts online. The Nordic online Christmas shopping season culminates in the last week of November. The most important reason why Nordic consumers choose to purchase their Christmas gifts online is that it is simple and convenient, as well as being less expensive.

“We can see an interesting difference between the Nordic countries. In Sweden e-commerce consumers state that they shop online to avoid the crowds in the Christmas rush. This reason does not rank as highly in other Nordic countries. In Finland, on the other hand, one reason given major significance is that the Christmas gifts required are not available where the consumer lives,” says Arne Andersson, e-commerce expert at PostNord.

E-commerce in the Nordic region Q3 2014 in brief:

• The value of online purchases by Nordic e-commerce consumers in the third quarter of 2014 was approximately SEK 34.5 billion.
• Of this amount, consumers estimate that online purchases from sites that they consider to be foreign account for around SEK 9.4 billion.
• Forty-three percent of Nordic e-commerce consumers said they had bought online from abroad during the quarter.
• When Nordic residents buy from abroad, they mostly like to buy from the UK, USA, China or Germany.
• Clothes/shoes, books/media products, home electronics and cosmetics – skin and hair care products – are the four categories of goods that most consumers in the Nordic countries bought online during the third quarter.
• Nordic consumers estimate that they will be spending just under SEK 60 billion on Christmas gifts this year.
• Thirty-three percent of Nordic consumers estimate that they will purchase Christmas gifts on the Internet to a value of SEK 11 billion.
• Christmas shopping online culminates at the end of November.
• The most important reason why Nordic consumers choose to purchase their Christmas gifts online is that it is simple and convenient.

About E-commerce in the Nordic region Q3 2014
Since the first quarter of 2014, PostNord has been monitoring growth in e-commerce in the Nordic region on a quarterly basis. The survey is based on consumers’ estimates of the total amount they have spent on online purchases. E-commerce in the Nordic region, published once a quarter, is based on a consumer survey conducted in Sweden, Denmark, Norway and Finland involving just over 4,000 respondents. The latest survey was conducted in October 2014.