Finland, e-commerce and logistics

Finland is known for its high- quality education, social welfare and the overall happiness of its residents.

But what about its e-commerce? Here is everything you need to know about e-trading with Finland.

Image of Vienna Ringstraße: City Hall in Helsinki

Why Finland?

With just over 5.5 million inhabitants, Finland has the third largest population in the Nordic region. Having joined the Euro in 1999 (and becoming a member of the EU in 1995), Finland is the only country in this region that has the Euro as its currency, making it easy for Finns to shop from other European countries.1

A report by Eurostat in 2021 found 97% of the people in Finland are internet users. This makes Finland one of the higher rating countries for internet penetration. More pertinently, 81% of Finns are online shoppers, according to the Europe E-commerce Report 2022.

  • 5.531 million
    (2020)
    Population
  • 7.4 billion dollars (expected in 2023)2
    Online sales
  • 97%
    % of population using the internet

The e-commerce landscape

E-commerce in Finland was worth 7.179 million dollars in 2021, according to EcommerceDB. The market is predicted to grow by an annual rate of 12.30% between 2022 and 2025, when the market is estimated to be worth 12.74 billion dollars. By 2025, the Finnish online retail market is projected to have over four million users.

Although Covid-19 increased the number of online buyers, particularly in older age groups, there is still a wide gap among age groups for active online shopping. For example, in 2021, 89% of people under 50 bought online compared to only 56% for the over 65’s.

When it comes to shopping internationally, Germany ranks the highest as the country Finns most like to buy from at 42% , followed by China at 40%, according to a 2021 survey. Other popular countries for cross-border shopping are Sweden (24%), UK (19%), and the USA (18%).3

Opportunities

In general, Finnish online consumers are quite keen cross- border buyers, most likely because there have been comparatively few strong domestic brands. As mentioned, they are fond of shopping from Germany, so rather unsurprisingly, Zalando is one of the most dominant marketplaces. This is followed in popularity by eBay and Amazon.

A major factor influencing purchases for people in Finland is quality. The origin of the product or brand is also important, as is whether the product complies with European standards (which is seen as proof of quality). Ecology is also becoming an increasingly important factor influencing the purchasing decisions of Finnish consumers. Sales of food and organic products are growing. Respect for the environment is very important to Finns, and for this reason, the second-hand market is also growing.4

If you are an overseas company attempting to build e- commerce in Finland, it is recommended to make sure that your platform will support local enterprise resource planning systems (ERP), customer relationship management (CRM), local payment methods, and Finnish Post.

Top products bought online in Finland

  1. Toys hobby and diy (31%)
  2. Electronics and media (23%)
  3. Fashion (22%)
  4. Furniture and appliances (15%)
  5. Food and Personal Care (9%)5

Logistics

Due to landform and climate, logistics is concentrated in the southern part of the country, where a range of companies provide logistics and supply chains, freight forwarding, packaging, warehousing, storage, distribution, and pallet trucks.

According to the Finnish Postal Service’s Grand eCom Survey 2022, Finns differ from their European counterparts when it comes to package delivery options and speed. They prefer to collect from a parcel machine or from a distribution point at a time convenient to their own schedule, as opposed to home delivery. Furthermore, Finns do not consider fast deliveries to be that important. They are more interested in being able to choose the place for the delivery.6

You can familiarise yourself with the weights and prices of sending a package to Finland using our helpful shipping rates chart

Keep in mind

Due to an increase in digital crime, Finns are very distrustful about payment and their data. Digital payments are implemented gradually – digital wallets account for about 12% of payments. PayPal dominates in this field – it covers 10% of payments in e-commerce.7

What our experts say:

“Finnish e-commerce still has huge potential. There are some similarities to other Scandinavian countries, but there are also differences. With a good shipping partner you can tailor your delivery strategy towards Finnish preferences.”

Simon Perkins, Commercial Director, SAMOS

To find out more about how SAMOS can help you achieve fast and cost- effective deliveries to Finland get in touch today

1. https://cross-border-magazine.com/finland-consummers-shop-crossborder/

2. https://ecommercenews.eu/ecommerce-in-europe/ecommerce-in-finland/

3. https://www.trade.gov/country-commercial-guides/finland-ecommerce

4. https://ecommercegermany.com/blog/european-ecommerce-overview-finland/

5. https://ecommercenews.eu/ecommerce-in-europe/ecommerce-in-finland/

6. https://www.trade.gov/country-commercial-guides/finland-ecommerce

7. https://ecommercegermany.com/blog/european-ecommerce-overview-finland