Per Ljungberg, Head of Innovation at Svensk Handel, comments that they had hoped for stronger figures.
After a strong July, we had hoped for somewhat stronger figures in August. But an explanation could also be that we simply made purchases over a longer time horizon in July. Therefore, there is no reason to paint too bleak a picture," says Per Ljungberg.
Common to both Svensk Handel's indicator and PostNord's recently published monthly report is the effect of the new customs duty of 3 euros for goods under 150 euros from countries outside the EU. Both reports show that foreign purchases, especially from platforms like Temu and Shein, have decreased.
Svensk Handel notes that the proportion of consumers who shopped abroad fell from 23 percent last year to 16 percent in August this year. According to Per Ljungberg, it appears that the customs duty has achieved the desired result.
Fewer and fewer are choosing to shop from the Chinese online platforms. We hope to see a continuation of this trend in the coming months, as some of the most intense months for e-commerce are approaching. In the best of worlds, the customs duty can lead to more business for Swedish and European trading companies," says Per Ljungberg.
Despite similar observations regarding the development of foreign purchases, the data sources differ regarding the general volume of e-commerce. While Svensk Handel reports a decline in the proportion of e-commerce consumers and a decreasing average purchase, PostNord's figures for August show an increase. According to the E-barometer, 76.7 percent of the population shopped online, and the average purchase amount was measured at 3,995 Swedish krona. PostNord's statistics indicate that Swedes' domestic consumption is compensating for the loss of foreign purchases, while Svensk Handel's data points to a broader decline in e-commerce turnover.