Nordic distance selling totals €7.6 billion

One in five Nordic residents (21 per cent) purchase products over the Internet or via mail order each month. Denmark is the Nordic country in which consumers shop from home most often. One in three Danes (33 per cent) shop from home each month. In Norway, the proportion is one in four (26 per cent) and in Sweden, one in five (20 per cent). Finns shop from home least often - a mere four per cent state that they shop from home each month. These are the results of over 4,000 interviews with individuals in the Nordic region, conducted by Sifo Research International on behalf of Posten.  

During 2008, Nordic consumers shopped from home for an estimated total of €7.6 billion.[1] Danes spend the most money shopping from home. In 2008 each Dane shopped from home for an average of €712, somewhat more than the Nordic average (€703). Swedes and Finns spend less money shopping from home. They spent an average of €564 and €556, respectively. 

Nearly 50 per cent of Nordic residents who shop from home have purchased products from a foreign site at least once. Danes and Norwegians do so most often, while Swedes do so to a lesser extent. Nordic residents shop most often from the US and Great Britain. Danes and Norwegians shop from Swedish sites to a relatively large extent. Swedes sometimes shop from Danish e-commerce sites, though less often from sites in Norway and Finland. 

- Our previous studies have shown that Swedish distance selling has grown substantially during the past few years. This study shows a similar trend in other Nordic countries. We see a clear trend that an increasing number of distance selling companies want to expand their market to reach all 25 million Nordic residents. This most likely means that distance selling will continue to grow as it becomes more cross-border, says Per Mossberg, Senior Vice President of Corporate Communications at Posten AB. 

On all markets, price is the primary reason for shopping from home. Price is most important to Danes, 50 per cent of whom highlight this factor. The corresponding figure in Sweden is 40 per cent. Other significant reasons for shopping from home offered by Nordic consumers include convenience and greater range/increased accessibility.  

Facts, Posten Logistics' Nordic distribution network:
MyPack is the name of Posten Logistics' parcel service for distance selling companies looking to reach consumers throughout the Nordic region. In Norway and Finland, recipients collect their parcels at distribution points operating under the MyPack brand - in Sweden and Denmark, parcels are collected at Posten's partner outlets.

The entire study, "Distance Selling in the Nordics 2009", can be downloaded by the link below.    

For further information, contact:
Posten Media Relations, tel: +46 (0)8 23 10 10, e-mail: press@posten.se 

With the help of Posten, messages and goods are delivered quickly, safely and cost-effectively.  We enable our customers to achieve added value by combining physical and electronic flow of goods, in which Posten's services can be integrated with our customers' business operations.  With over 4,000 service locations, we provide daily service to 4.5 million households and 900,000 businesses in Sweden.  We handle over 20 million mail items each day.  We are one of Sweden's largest groups of companies, with over 30,000 employees and an annual turnover of close to 30 billion SEK.  Posten AB (publ) is a public limited company, wholly-owned by the Swedish government.  Please visit us at www.posten.se

[1] Estimate made by the Swedish Retail and Wholesale Trade Research Institute (HUI).