Almost one third of international purchases are made from Germany
International e-commerce is important for several reasons. International trade creates growth opportunities for retail companies that want to establish themselves in new markets and provides a greater range for e-commerce consumers who want to shop from other countries.
About 10 percent of the surveyed Swedish consumers state that in the last month they have done e-shopping from a country other than Sweden, and about 60 percent of the international purchases can be attributed to Germany, China and Great Britain. Germany is the country that has developed most strongly in recent years while the UK and China have lost attractiveness; Great Britain due to Brexit and China due to the corona pandemic and the subsequent shipping problems. Germany also benefits from its automotive industry, where affordable spare parts and vehicle accessories are not an insignificant part of what the Swedes choose to import from there.
Danish e-commerce has become more attractive over the years and the Danes are strong in furniture, design products and toys.
E-commerce continues to grow in several places in Europe
During the initial pandemic year of 2020, basically all of Europe saw strong e-commerce growth, and in 2021 the development continued in the same direction in several markets.
The development has looked different in different countries though. In the E-barometer surveys in 2021, a majority in Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium stated that they thought they would lower their level of online shopping compared to before, while the opposite was the case in, for example, Italy, Poland and Albania. In the three latter countries, e-commerce has continued to grow at a high rate.
However, it is worth pointing out that growth takes place from a lower level in the countries with the fastest growth rate. In the European Commission's Digital Economic Development Index (DESI), for example, Slovakia ranked below the EU average for all the main key figures measured, from 5G deployment and coverage to human capital. However, it is likely that we will see continued strong growth in these types of countries as the EU and the countries themselves have several projects underway to promote the digital market and ultimately create a common digital market within the entire EU, which is one of the Union's long-term goals.
Source: The E-barometern 2022
