Nordic consumers spend over SEK 160 billion online in 2015

10th March 2016

Nordic consumers purchased goods online worth a total of SEK 161.6 billion in 2015, an increase of around 15 percent over last year's figure. Purchases made from international sites during the year totaled SEK 40 billion in value. Forty percent of Nordic residents bought goods online from foreign websites last year. Norway recorded the highest percentage in this category (50 %), followed closely by Finland (49 %), as revealed by PostNord's E-commerce in the Nordics 2016 report.


In 2015, 40 percent of all Nordic residents bought goods online from international websites. The most popular countries to buy from were the UK (36 %), Germany (25 %), the US (23 %), and China (23 %), while Sweden (13 %) was also popular.

"The domestic market's relative maturity is what drives international commerce. The Swedish range has been good. Finland’s, Norway’s, and Denmark’s domestic alternatives haven’t been as good, which has made local consumers more eager to buy online from foreign retailers," says Arne Andersson, Nordic E-commerce Specialist at PostNord.

While there are many similarities between online shoppers in the Nordic region, there are also national differences. For example, Danes have high expectations concerning fast deliveries and value the option to have goods delivered to their workplace, to a parcel machine, or to their home during daytime hours. Swedes and Norwegians prefer to have parcels delivered to their home mailboxes, or to pick them up from partner outlets. Finnish consumers are the most patient among Nordic residents when it comes to delivery times, and prefer to pick their mail items up from partner outlets.

"Smooth, flexible deliveries make more people want to buy online more of the time. Recipients want to know when, where, and how their goods will be delivered. It’s also becoming more common for recipients to want the option to change the delivery address and time while the goods are in transit. Customized deliveries are becoming an increasingly important competitive advantage," explains Arne Andersson.

Just how Nordic consumers shop online differs from country to country. In Denmark and Norway, one in four consumers uses tablets to make purchases. In Sweden, one in five consumers uses their cell phone to shop online, whereas in Finland, e-commerce using mobile devices is significantly less common (tablet, 15 %; cell phone, 12 %).