PostNord reports “sharp” increase in Nordic e-commerce
Consumers in the Nordic region spent SEK40.5bn on online purchases in the second quarter (Q2) of this year, up 23% on Q2 2014, according to PostNord’s latest quarterly report. PostNord added that all Nordic e-commerce markets continued to grow significantly during the quarter but “domestic commerce in each respective country saw particularly sharp growth: SEK6.7bn or 29%”.
However, it seems that while consumers are demanding more goods, they are also demanding a higher level of service.
Annemarie Gardshol, Head of E-commerce at PostNord, explained: “Nordic e-commerce is continuing to expand substantially, and consumers are become increasingly mature and open to e-commerce. This means that they’re demanding more and more from the purchasing experience. Consumer driven logistics becomes more and more important, for example Nordic residents think that it’s almost as important to receive clear information on how and when an item will be delivered as it is to receive clear information on the actual product.”
In line with the global trend, PostNord found that Nordic mobile e-commerce grew substantially in Q2. The number of Nordic residents that made purchases from a mobile device increased from 9% in Q2 2014 to 16% in Q2 2015 and PostNord found that “Sweden and Norway have by far the largest percentages of people making online purchases in this way”.
PostNord’s E-commerce in the Nordic region report is published quarterly and is based on a consumer survey conducted in Sweden, Denmark, Norway and Finland and involving around 5,000 respondents. The latest consumer survey was conducted in July 2015.