Written by The Paytrail team - Sep 17, 2018
Online shopping is currently experiencing rapid growth. Everyday goods are becoming widely available on the Internet, and online subscription services are settling into the market.
Online shopping continues to grow considerably faster than the overall economy. According to the online payment company Paytrail's latest report, e-commerce is estimated to skyrocket to an impressive 12.2 billion euros this year.
The increase is up by 18% since 2017, which is considerably much more than the 3% growth rate of the entire Finnish economy.
According to the report, 50% of Finnish consumers are shopping for clothes, and over a third are buying ticket items online. Nearly every sixth Finn (16%) is purchasing food and groceries online. Growth is up by 60% from last year.
"The results strongly suggest that consumers' basic everyday life related purchases are beginning to shift online," says Markus Laurio, CEO of Paytrail.
Travel remains the largest single segment and accounts for 47% of the total online turnover.
The use of online subscription services is becoming increasingly common
Online services have become so popular among Finnish consumers that their portion is worth approximately EUR 2 billion this year.
About 37% of Finns are buying ticket items online, which is 48% more than in 2017, and sales are expected to continue growing. Digital media and online game sales are on the increase. It is also estimated that every sixth Finn (16%) is now paying for their parking online.
More and more companies today are offering products and services offering monthly subscriptions. To some extent, these services are the ones spurring the growth.
"TV and music streaming services are among the most popular subscription services and their sales are ever growing. Similarly, beauty and household products and pet foods have become recurring orders," continues Laurio.
Mobile phones are changing the payment habits of Finnish consumers
Online banking is still the most widespread method of payment for online shopping in Finland. According to a recent report, up to 70% of Finns have paid for their online purchases using online banking services.
However, card payment has overtaken online banking payment services when making purchases using a mobile phone. This is a significant development in a market where paying via online banking services has traditionally been the most popular method of payment.
"Almost half of Finnish consumers (46%) have made an online purchase on a mobile device. The trend is very significant and must be kept in mind when designing web stores," says Markus Laurio.
The Finnish e-commerce report is based on a survey conducted by YouGov in the second quarter of 2018. Approximately 7 000 consumers from Finland, Sweden, Denmark, and Norway were interviewed, of which 2 000 respondents live in Finland.
The report is now available for the first time in Finnish and is freely downloadable at: www.paytrail.com/report.
ABOUT PAYTRAIL
Established in 2007, Paytrail has the largest payment volume of all online payment services in Finland. The company provides payment services to more than 10 000 webshops and online services and is also responsible for the online payments of the Suomi.fi service. Products and services worth over 5 billion euros have been paid for using Paytrail's payment service. The company is part of Nets, the second largest payment company in Europe.
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