By Olof Källgren at Direct Link.
Ok, let´s start by admitting that Denmark is not the largest ecommerce market in Europe, or even in the Nordics for that part. But it certainly has some other interesting features going for it.
Denmark has a retail-oriented economy and an excellent infrastructure, and the Danes shop online often and merrily. During an average month, 61 per cent of the Danes are going online to make purchases, 31 per cent shop from a foreign market and the typical Danish online consumer spends EUR 229. This is the highest monthly spending among the countries in the Nordic region. Out of the EUR 5.5 billion spent online in Denmark in 2017, 16 per cent came from online purchases from abroad. The e-commerce share of the total retail sector is now around 11 per cent and growing.
The Danes favourite countries when they shop from abroad
Now it´s getting really interesting. When it comes to shopping from foreign markets, three out of four Nordic countries has China as their number one destination. But not Denmark. Of the Danish online consumers who make purchases from abroad, 34 per cent shop from the UK, 25 per cent from China and 23 per cent from Germany. The UK has been topping this list for some years now, so it´s obvious that UK companies and brands can enjoy a high level of trust and status among Danish online consumers.
So what do they like to buy online?
The top three product categories to buy online from Denmark are Clothing& Shoes, Home Electronics and Media Products. And lately, as an interesting runner-up, Beauty & Health. And this is more or less the same categories that they favour also when shopping cross-border.
Other product groups that have been growing fast in the last few years, but from lower levels, are Children’s Products & Toys and Sport & Leisure equipment.
Delivery
Compared to their Nordic neighbours, the Danes stand out a little. The Nordic online consumers in general are relatively patient when it comes to delivery time expectations. However, the Danes are a bit different here with 74 per cent of the online consumers expecting delivery within two days. Still, it is clear and relevant information about how, when and where the delivery will take place that is considered most important to the Danes. Good information also beats the demand for free returns and free shipping.
Be sure to offer the relevant payment options when entering Denmark
Danish consumers are very clear with respect to which payment offer is preferred. Three in four prefer to pay by card. They have a national card, called Dancard, which is issued by the banks, and a large majority of Danes over the age of 18 have one. It´s mostly connected to Visa/Mastercard so no problem using it also in connection with purchases from other countries.
The second most preferred payment method is MobilePay, which is an application that allows you to make payments with your Smart Phone. Unlike the other Nordic countries, the preference for paying via invoice is more or less non-existent.
About the report:
E-commerce in the Nordics 2018 is based on consumer surveys carried out monthly in Sweden, Denmark, Norway and Finland from February 2017 to January 2018. The total number of respondents, aged 18-79, was 92,656.
In the report, e-commerce is defined as the sale of goods via the Internet, which are delivered to home or a service point, or picked up from a store, warehouse or collection facility by the consumer.
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