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E-commerce in Poland has been relatively late to develop, but on the other hand is growing fast. Poland is below the European average for the number of e-commerce consumers, internet penetration and average spend per year, but growth in the number of new e-commerce consumers has been strong at 25 % between 2014 and 2018. The most preferred products to buy online in Poland are clothes and footwear, home electronics, and cosmetics.

Prepared to pay for fast deliveries

Polish consumers want fast deliveries and they are willing to pay for it. 55 percent of Polish consumers say that speedy delivery is very important which, together with Dutch consumers, is one of the highest percentages in Europe. Polish consumers are also the ones with the highest willingness to pay for one-day delivery – 46 percent would do this.

Modest levels of buying from abroad

Polish e-commerce still mainly takes place within the country’s borders. 46 percent of Polish consumers who have shopped online say that they have purchased from abroad, the lowest percentage of all the countries in the survey. 60 percent of Polish consumers say that it is very important that a website is accessible in Polish, but since Polish is not that common on cross-border shops, this presents an obstacle to buying online from abroad.

Olof Källgren, Market Information Manager, Direct Link

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PostNord/Direct Link has conducted studies of the European e-commerce market since 2014, presenting its findings in the report “E-commerce in Europe”. The report is based on interviews with consumers in Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. In a series of blog posts, we will take a closer look at the individual e-commerce markets covered by this year’s “E-commerce in Europe 2018”. The new 2018 report can be ordered free of charge.

For more in-depth information about consumer behavior in the Nordics, you can also order our report “E-commerce in the Nordics”.

For more than a decade now, PostNord has commissioned a yearly study of the Nordic e-commerce market. The report “E‑commerce in the Nordics 2018 Summary” (published in March 2019) is based on surveys with consumers aged 18-79 years conducted monthly in Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden. The total number of respondents is 89 000. The report contains detailed information on both the Nordic market as a whole, as well as the four Scandinavian countries individually. Here are some findings from the new study.

Nordic market now worth over EUR 22 billion

The total value of physical products bought online during 2018 is estimated at EUR 22.4 billion. 16 % came from purchases made from foreign e-commerce markets. Sweden, the largest country in the region, is responsible for the biggest part of the total spending while Denmark and Norway show the highest average spending per capita with EUR 223 and EUR 218 respectively. Finland has the lowest average spending per capita, but on the other hand the highest share of residents buying products from abroad.

Four countries dominate when Nordic consumers shop outside the region

Nordic countries differ when it comes to shopping from other markets than their own. Finnish and Norwegian consumers have a habit of shopping from abroad, while Danish and Swedish consumers rely on domestic web shops to a greater extent. When the Nordics make purchases from outside the region, they prefer to buy from China, the United Kingdom, Germany and the US.

Delivery is central to the whole shopping experience

Online customers want to be in the driver’s seat and clearly state that delivery, and thus the task of shipping companies, is central to the purchase experience. Swedish consumers stand out by their high use of service points and when it comes to wanting to choose the delivery date. Finns have a strong desire to be able to change the delivery method after placing an order. Norwegians consider it important to be offered free shipping, while Danes are the ones with the highest demand for fast deliveries.

The new report can now be ordered free of charge.

Olof Källgren, Market Information Manager, Direct Link

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The UK is Europe’s leading e-commerce nation and considered by many to be the most developed e-commerce market in the world. The country is far above the European average for the number of e-commerce consumers, Internet penetration and, above all, average spend per year. Growth in the number of new online consumers has been below average, at 17 percent between 2014 and 2018, which is to be expected in such a mature market. The products most commonly bought online are clothes and footwear, home electronics, and books.

Pervasive online shopping

UK consumers are active in several niche product categories, which illustrates how widespread and commonplace online shopping has become. People buy everything from flowers to car accessories online. This is the type of consumption that is needed if e-commerce is to carve out serious market shares in the total volume of purchases. One product category that has reached an extreme level, compared to other countries, is food. In the UK, 34 percent of consumers buy food online, much higher than in other European markets.

China and the US top foreign markets to buy from

UK consumers buy from abroad at about the European average, primarily from China and the US. Growth has above all been in purchases from China, which is now the largest market for imports measured in numbers of goods. A factor of relevance with regard to the British buying from abroad will be Brexit, which is likely to affect the UK’s e-commerce exports and imports with Europe.

Olof Källgren, Market Information Manager, Direct Link

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PostNord/Direct Link has conducted studies of the European e-commerce market since 2014, presenting its findings in the report “E-commerce in Europe”. The report is based on interviews with consumers in Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. In a series of blog posts, we will take a closer look at the individual e-commerce markets covered by this year’s “E-commerce in Europe 2018”. The new 2018 report can be ordered free of charge.

For more in-depth information about consumer behavior in the Nordics, you can also order our report “E-commerce in the Nordics”.

The payment methods used by online shops is one of the most decisive factors in the final stage of the buying process for most online consumers. The right payment options can be the difference between success and failure, in that preferences vary substantially from one market to another. Especially in cross-border transactions.

For this very reason, most online shops offer several different payment methods to make consumers feel secure and therefore shop more. The two most popular payment methods by far in Europe are debit or credit cards, and Paypal or other payment services. The reason for cards being widely preferred is most likely because European consumers are simply highly familiar with that payment method both in online shopping and in physical shops. Convenient payment services like Paypal are successful because consumers regard them as safe and they are widely offered. These two payment options are the ones that have grown most in the past years, at the expense of other alternatives such as invoice, COD, and payment by installments, which are rarely used nowadays.

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The relative shares of the two largest options are more or less equal, but the one that is preferred varies from one country to another. In Italy, Germany and Poland, services like Paypal hold a stronger position than debit cards. The opposite applies in the Nordic region, Belgium, and France. Payment methods are on an equal level in the UK, the Netherlands, and Spain. The option that in general is the third most popular is direct bank transfer, yet this also depends since national options are extremely strong in the Netherlands and Poland, for example.

PostNord/Direct Link has conducted studies of the European e-commerce market since 2014, presenting its findings in the report “E-commerce in Europe”. The report is based on interviews with consumers in Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. The complete report “E-commerce in Europe 2018” can be ordered free of charge.

Olof Källgren, Market Information Manager, Direct Link

Biggest cross-border fans

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The Nordic countries were early adopters of the Internet and have a highly developed digital infrastructure. The Nordics are above the European average for the number of e-commerce consumers, internet penetration and average spend per year. Growth in the number of new e-commerce consumers has been relatively weak at 12 percent, which is to be expected in a mature market where the majority already buy online. The products most commonly bought online in the Nordic region are clothes and fashion, home electronics, and cosmetics.

Nordic consumers accept longer delivery times

To date, no platform or market place operator has established a presence in the Nordics. This means the Nordic countries have not yet been able to fully share in the benefits that truly large scale platform operator’s offer, such as free shipping and same-day deliveries. The absence of these global giants, in combination with large geographic distances, is probably one explanation why Nordic consumers are willing to accept relatively long delivery times.

Nordic countries the biggest buyers from abroad

The Nordics are the countries in the survey that buy the most from abroad. 83 percent of the consumers who have bought online say that they have also made purchases from abroad. The foreign markets mostly favored by the Nordic consumers are China, UK, Germany and USA. Even if not all the Nordic countries are EU members, they have their own reciprocal trade agreements, which favor e-commerce between the countries.

PostNord/Direct Link has conducted studies of the European e-commerce market since 2014, presenting its findings in the report “E-commerce in Europe”. The report is based on interviews with consumers in Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. In a series of blog posts, we will take a closer look at the individual e-commerce markets covered by this year’s “E-commerce in Europe 2018”. The new 2018 report can be ordered free of charge.

For more in-depth information about consumer behavior in the Nordics, you can also order our report “E-commerce in the Nordics”.

Olof Källgren, Market Information Manager, Direct Link