The region’s online shopping amounted to EUR 2.1 billion (SEK 19 billion) in 2013, with UK websites being of notable importance, as well as domestic stores, which are growing.
Moreover, there is a call for brick-and-mortar stores growth as well, a fact which calls for integration strategies for businesses considering setting up an ecommerce website or retail store in the Nordic region.
Experts claim that the importance of the physical store in the Nordics is still very relevant, and an integration of physical and digital channels are imperative.
Arne Andersson, PostNord’s ecommerce professional in Sweden, claims that furniture, home furnishing and building supplies will be areas harnessing growth potential in the omni-channel.
Almost 6.3 million Nordic consumers purchased clothing ranges online, proportionately similar in size in each country, while 38% of Swedish consumers were buying books online, only 26% of Danish consumers were.
Norwegians were particular to home electronics (38%) and Finland purchased less electronics online, pointing to 24% in 2013.
In terms of omni-channel presence, 21% of Swedes preferred to check retail stores first and later buy online, while just 12% in Norway, where customers preferred to look online (58% of them) and buy locally.
The brick-and-mortar stores catered for the read online/buy in stores category, which is notably higher than looking in stores/buy online.
The role of mobile phones also comes into play, as 13% of consumers used m-commerce in Norway to make online purchases, while Finland came in with 4%.
In terms of preferred payment methods, debit and credit card are the dominant choice in the region.
In terms of delivery, there is a rising demand for shorter delivery times for online shoppers. The 2014 findings, as compared to the results for 2013, there’s a consistent decline in how long customers are willing to wait for the delivery of their products. The average expectations Nordics expected to wait is 4.16 days, while last year it averaged out at 4.67.
Expectations also include how Nordics want their packages delivered and PostNord’s report unanimously claims that the majority want mail-carrier order to mailbox, with nearly 8 million consumers returning to parcels in 2013.
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