Additionally, the transnational e-commerce market is booming in Nordic countries. In 2021, the revenue of cross-border B2C e-commerce increased in all four countries, amounting to almost 30 billion euros in the region. The trend is particularly evident in Sweden, where the share of foreign B2C e-commerce accounted for 43 percent of the total e-commerce revenue.
Secure delivery but not necessarily fast
Over 2021, the preferred delivery method for online-ordered packages varied in the Northern area. Most Danish consumers preferred their online orders to be delivered to their homes with a signature requirement, while consumers from Sweden and Norway liked mailbox deliveries better. In Finland, collection from parcel machines was the most popular delivery method. When asked what the most important delivery factor is, surprisingly less than one-third of Nordic consumers expected fast deliveries. The price and choice of delivery location were more relevant for consumers.Survey data regarding payment methods from 2021 indicated that credit or debit cards still have the highest penetration rates in the Scandinavian region, while PayPal or similar services ranked as the second-most popular services, followed by invoicing. Unlike in Finland and Sweden, paying through mobile applications was a common habit in Denmark.
The future of e-commerce
Online marketplaces are like digital malls where consumers can shop for multiple brands and products in the same place. In the Nordic region, the global marketplace Amazon had a significant user base in Denmark and Sweden. On the contrary, it failed to rank among the three most visited marketplaces in Norway. The fashion retailer Zalando was the undisputed leader as the e-commerce platform for the apparel and fashion category in Scandinavia. The German retailer was used by almost 40 percent of all northern shoppers.Besides the rising popularity of online marketplaces, social shopping is the latest profitable trend in e-commerce. By 2028, social commerce is projected to quadruple in revenue worldwide. In the Nordic region, over 60 percent of shoppers experienced purchasing through Facebook and one-quarter from Instagram. Nordic shoppers buy through social media because of their need for the products advertised, the availability of special discounts, and exclusive product offers on social networks.
