eCommerce market overviews

Visa and MasterCard are the most frequently offered payment methods in U.S. e-commerce. 96% of the top 500 online shops by net sales in 2020 in the U.S. offer payment by these methods. Closely followed by American Express with a percentage of 89%. Discover and Paypal also belong to the top 5 payment methods in U.S. e-commerce.
The ubiquity of credit and debit cards has made them an enabler of digital wallets in the U.S. With smartphones, digital wallets have the potential to extend the benefits of physical cards by seamlessly integrating loyalty programs and personalized financing offers.

The logistics for e-commerce is highly developed and consolidated in the USA. The main logistics providers for e-commerce are USPS, UPS, and FedEx.

The US Department of Commerce is the policy making entity for overall commerce in the US.

US Customs & Border Protection governs the rules of import/export declarations, tariffs, ports etc. 

Many e-Commerce businesses need to apply for a tax ID and look into whether they qualify for sales tax exemption and resale certificates. Every state, county and city has different tax regulations, so understanding the rules in your target market is crucial. 

There are no national governmental or non-governmental certification schemes for e-commerce in the USA.

Statista

ecommerceDB

jpmorgan

The most common used payment methods is PayPal or similar. Interesting insight is that PayPal dominates the German e- commerce market by 50%. Paying by invoice is 21% and Debit or credit card is only 17%. The largest invoice payment provider is Klarna.

The logistics for e-commerce in Germany is very developed, and there are many service providers that cover the whole of the Germany. The largest logistics providers for e-commerce in Germany are DHL, DB Schenker, UPS and FedEx.

Bundesministerium für Wirtschaft und Klimaschutz is the ministry governing e-commerce. 

Generalzolldirektion is the German Customs Agency. 

Bundeszentralamt für Steuern is the German Tax Authority. 

In Germany, the EU Digital Services act applies. 

The federal association of Ecommerce Vendors in Germany. 

The federal association of German Industry (many relevant topics). 

Trusted Shops. Most important badge for online shops. 

Important and renowned agency for tests of consumer products. 

German certification body for the safety and durability of products. 

E-commerce in Europe 2021, Postnord.

E-commerce 2020 international, NETS.

European E-commerce report 2022, E-commerce Europe.

PPro Payment.

Statista.

EcommerceDB.

E-commerce Germany News.

The UK e-commerce market is one of the leading in Europe especially for groceries. 95% of the population shops online and almost 90% had e-shopped the past month.

The main reason for shopping online in UK is convenience e.g. to comparing prices and more choices.

The most commonly products shopped online are clothing and footwear 64%, Groceries 46% and Books and media 40%.

E-commerce consumer expectations of delivery time is pretty much like Denmark. Almost 70% prefer a delivery time between 3-5 days and almost 20% prefer a delivery time between 1-2 days.

When it has comes to delivery methods, UK are very different from the Nordics. Total more than 90% prefer Home delivery. Almost 60% with signature requirement and about 30% without signature requirement. UK is a country where home delivery is very important for the consumers.

The most used payment method in UK is Debit or credit card (58%) PayPal or similar (35%). Visa and MasterCard are the most commonly used. Besides PayPal Apple Pay and Google Pay are also moving into the payment scheme.

The logistics for e-commerce in the UK is very developed, and there are 30+ service providers that cover the whole of the UK. The largest logistics providers for e-commerce in the UK are DPD Group, DHL Supply Chain, UPS, Wincanton, and Royal Mail (GLS).

Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy. 

Economic Development Directorate (Scotland). 

Department for the Economy (Northern Ireland).

Business, economy and innovation (Wales). 

HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC). 

The Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013 place additional obligations on website operators who deal with consumers as well as introducing cancellation rights for consumers. 

The Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations 2003 governs direct marketing (both solicited and unsolicited) by means of electronic communication. 

The Online Intermediation Services for Business Users Regulations 2020 imposes obligations on providers of online platforms or search engines that are used by businesses to reach consumers. 

The Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 prohibits various unfair practices by traders, such as misleading actions or omissions, and include a “blacklist” of prohibited commercial practices. 

The Provision of Services Regulations Act of 2009 requires traders to specify information available rewto customers and meet certain standards when handling complaints. 

Ombudsman services are only available when all other processes have been exhausted. Although there are a range of Ombudsman services in the UK they all adhere to these rules. 

eIDAS Trusted List is the UK trusted list shows whether a trust service provider has been granted qualified status and which of its services are qualified. The trusted list is the single authoritative source you can use to verify that the ICO has granted a trust service provider, and one or more of its services, with qualified status. 

E-commerce in Europe 2021, Postnord.

E-commerce 2020 international, NETS.

European E-commerce report 2022, E-commerce Europe.

PPro Payment.

Statista.

EcommerceDB.

The Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport.

Sweden is one of the most developed ecommerce countries. The Swedish consumer is willing to try new technology e.g. try new payments methods.
One of the countries in Europe where the highest percentage of population shops online. 96% of the population shops online and 80% have e-shopped the past month.

The main reason for shopping online in Sweden is convenience. Sweden is one the country in Europe that rates convenience highest when it comes to reason for shopping online. The main reason behind the last time a Swedish e-shopper a cancelled an online purchase is the including shipping was to high 27%. The preferred payment option was not available 11%. The payment process did not work 9%.

The most commonly product shopped online are pharmacy products 69%, clothing and footwear 61% and home electronics 38%.

E-commerce consumer expectations of delivery time is pretty much like Denmark. About 70% prefer a delivery time between 3-5 days.
When it has comes to delivery methods 30% prefer own mailbox or mailbox by mail carrier. About 20% prefer distribution point and about 20% prefer home delivery without signature.

When it comes to reason why Swedish consumers shops abroad is because the product not is available (49%) and because the price is lower outside Sweden (43%).

Residents of Sweden most prefer paying by invoice and therefor the most used payment method is Invoice (31%), Klarna is the largest invoice payment provider. Payment with Debit or credit card (28%). The most used credit card is VISA and MasterCard. PayPal or similar (13%). 8 million Swedish citizens has downloaded the payment app swish. The app is becoming more popular by the young population.

The market for logistics providers in Sweden is relatively consolidated. The main e-commerce logistics providers in Sweden are PostNord, Budbee Home Delivery, DB Schenker, and DHL.

All relevant information from public entities is collected at Verksamt.se. 

Company registration is governed by the Swedish Companies Registration Office (Bolagsverket). 

Customs are governed by Swedish Customs (Tullverket). 

Taxes are governed by the Swedish Tax Agency (Skatteverket). 

The Swedish Sale of Goods Act (Köplagen) is the overarching legal framework for commerce in Sweden. 

The E-commerce Act (E-handelslagen) is the commercial law that lays out the legal framework for e-commerce. (2002:562) om elektronisk handel och andra informationssamhällets tjänster Svensk författningssamling 2002:2002:562 t.o.m. SFS 2014:1454 - Riksdagen

The Swedish Consumer Agency (Konsumentverket) and its service HallåKonsument! provides information for consumers about e-commerce, and safeguards consumers interests. 

The Consumer Ombudsman (Konsumentombudsmannen) takes cases from consumers and provides guidelines based on cases. 

The main certificate in Sweden is the Trygg E-handels märkat (in english), which is established and operated by the Swedish Trade Federation. Companies pay the cost of certification. There are no customer protection schemes connected to the certification.

E-commerce in Europe 2021, Postnord.

E-commerce 2020 international, NETS.

European E-commerce report 2022, E-commerce Europe.

ecommerceDB.

PPro Payment.

Swish.

In 2021, B2C e-commerce sales reached nearly EUR 17 billion (5% of GDP), which was an impressive growth of 58% from 2017 levels, heavily influenced by the COVID19 pandemic. E-commerce sales now represent 15-18% of retail sales in Norway.

The top three B2C online stores represent 15% of all e-commerce revenue in Norway; they are elkjop.no, komplett.no, and apple.com.

Fashion is the most popular category shopped in Norway. The main online store for fashion are the H&M group. The most popular marketplaces for clothes are Zalando and Boozt

The main stores for Food & Beverages are: oda.com, meny.no, joker.no. For alcoholic product with an alcohol percentage above 4,7% can only be sold at Vinmonopolets physical stores or web shop vinmonopolet.no.

The main stores for Furniture & Homeware are: ikea.com, jysk.no, bohus.no, skeidar.no, and mobelringen.no.

Norway is digitally mature country. Norway is one of the countries in Europe where the highest percentage of populations shops online. 93% of the population shops online and 55% have e-shopped the past month.
The main reason for shopping online in Norway is convenience. The main reason behind the last time a Norwegian e-shopper has cancelled an online purchase is the price including shipping was to high 27%. The payment process did not work 9%. Lack of confidence 7%.

The most commonly product shopped online are clothing and footwear 55%, Cosmetics 31% and Pharmacy products 28%.

E-commerce consumer expectations of delivery time is pretty much like Denmark. About 60% prefer a delivery time between 3-5 days, but its one of the European countries where the consumers accept a higher delivery time on 6 days or more (30%).

When it has comes to delivery methods 45% prefer own mailbox or mailbox by mail carrier. About 20% prefer distribution point and about 20% prefer home delivery without signature.

When it comes to reason why Norwegian consumers shops abroad is because the product not is available (49%) and because the price is lower outside Norway (38%).

Debit and credit card is still the most used payment alternative, where 80% of online shoppers prefer to pay with card. However it is more and more combined with the payment app Vipps, that will merge with Mobilepay in 2023. We therefore see that card payment combined with Vipps are preferred by 68% of the consumers when shopping Online.

Visa and MasterCard are only used by 16% of consumers and payment by invoice is only used (18%), where the largest invoice payment provider is Klarna.

PayPal or similar is used (21%), but mostly for foreign web shops like aliexpress or wish.

The market for logistics providers in Norway is relatively consolidated. The main e-commerce logistics providers in Norway are PostNord, Posten, and Bring.

Norwegian Business Authority governs commercial rules and regulations. 

Norwegian Customs Agency (Tolletaten), governs trade rules and regulations. 

Norwegian Tax agency (Skattetaten), governs tax rules and regulations. 

Commercial law (kjøpsloven) sets the overall legal framework for all commerce B2B & C2C. 

Consumer Commercial law (forbrukerkjøpsloven) sets the overall legal framework for all commerce B2C both online and physical. 

Guidelines and regulations from the Norwegian forbrukertilsynet. set out rules and regulations based for consumers and companies. 

Trygg E-handel merket is the main, voluntary e-Certificate for e-Commerce. It is a mark that secures the consumer, that all Norwegian laws and regulations is followed for the webshop.

E-commerce in Europe 2021, Postnord.

E-commerce 2020 international, NETS.

European E-commerce report 2022, E-commerce Europe.

EcommerceDB.

PPro Payment.

Vipps.