The hospitality and transport sectors in particular have seen a strong recovery when it comes to face-to-face payments, with mobile payments gaining traction and pushing cash into the third place in terms of consumers’ payment methods preferences.
Following the 2020 difficulties faced by stores due to the Covid-19 pandemic, merchants that sell physical products are now starting to see better times, with Nordic countries’ year-on-year growth averaging 7.2% for H1 2022. Consumers have an increasing desire for diversity when choosing how to pay, with a preference for card or mobile payments having been noted across the Nordics. In physical stores, cash registers are increasingly being replaced by terminals, as well as mobile devices (so-called SoftPOS solutions), freeing up the sales staff and allowing for their focus to shift to customer service and advice.
80% of Nordic consumers prefer cards when it comes to face-to-face payments, with cards that are linked to loyalty solutions increasingly driving card usage;
10% of Nordic consumers favour mobile payments, with mobile overtaking cash as the second most popular payment method in the Nordics;
5% of Swedish consumers prefer to pay in cash, whereas 27% of consumers say that they have stopped using cash altogether;
70% Nordic consumers attribute high value to contactless payments, as opposed to less than 20% in 2018.
Nets representatives have stated that despite the energy prices, inflation and interest rates increase that are expected to happen in the months to come, ‘retailers will continue to adapt to consumer payment preferences as mobile payments gain more ground and cash continues to decline’.
In recent years, omnichannel and unified commerce adoption have seen an increase by Nordic consumers, as both concepts provide a multitude of opportunities for consumers and retailers alike. Click & Collect payment methods are used by more than 50% of Nordic consumers, the option being used by 69% of Norway consumers. Scan & Pay methods are used by two thirds of consumers in Sweden and Norway, as opposed to less than a third of the Danish and Finnish consumers who are currently doing so.
When it comes to payment authentication, speed is also something that is valued, with identity verification through means of fingerprint or facial recognition becoming increasingly common, but not yet mainstream. On average, approximately 50% of Nordic consumers currently prefer PIN authentication. However, 30% of consumers in Sweden favour Bank-ID, 13% in Denmark favour fingerprints, whereas facial recognition is starting to be used more widely and preferred by 11% in Denmark and Norway.
7.2% increase in high street retail;
2.8% decrease in grocery stores;
69.3% increase in restaurants and cafes;
30% increase in transport;
35.4% increase in services.
The report also highlights the consumers’ views when it comes to payment brands, insights into authentication methods including biometrics, as well as digital receipts and loyalty programmes; Nets’ Spending Index (growth data) is based on card transactions in physical trade.
Every day we send out a free e-mail with the most important headlines of the last 24 hours.
Subscribe now