Partner Article

Nordic online shoppers cross borders

The digital single market economy may still be a way off, due to technical or legal reasons, like the refusal of non-domestic credit cards, but the countries that are showing strong growth in online shopping across borders include Sweden and Finland, both countries where domestic e-commerce has already successfully embedded itself and matured.

Here at Ve Interactive, we have found that the successful cross-border ecommerce merchants we work with, are the ones who make customers in their target markets feel like they are actually shopping with a local brand. They are the ones who research well and adapt to the markets from many perspectives, including language, payment, distribution and marketing.

According to eConsultancy, the Nordic e-commerce market is worth almost €11bn with more than eight in ten Nordic consumers shopping online at least once last year, each spending an average of €683 during the year.

Mobile commerce is also beginning to take hold there and 5% of Nordic customers made purchases with their mobile phones last year.

According to the Finance Ministry, Sweden’s economic growth will slow less than previously expected in 2012, with Sweden’s gross domestic product to grow 1.1% in 2012. (In its previous forecast in April, the ministry said GDP was set to increase 0.4% this year, slowing from 3.9% in 2011). Meanwhile Swedish retail has been growing at the fastest pace in more than a year, as confidence among consumers in the export-dependent Nordic economy remain buoyant amid the European debt crisis.

Our team at Ve Nordic in Stockholm is in for a busy summer!

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Kathy Heslop .