{"id":9051,"date":"2023-02-20T06:51:21","date_gmt":"2023-02-20T05:51:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/eurotext.de\/en\/?p=9051"},"modified":"2024-09-30T08:48:57","modified_gmt":"2024-09-30T06:48:57","slug":"e-commerce-in-denmark","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/eurotext.de\/en\/blog\/e-commerce-in-denmark\/","title":{"rendered":"E-commerce in Denmark"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Danish ecommerce market<\/strong> is not particularly large, but it could still be a promising target market for European ecommerce businesses. In this article, we\u2019ll give you the facts, statistics and insights that you need to launch your sales channel in Denmark<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Statistics and facts about Denmark<\/h2>\n

The country of Denmark, along with Greenland<\/strong> and the Faroe Islands<\/strong>, is part of the Kingdom of Denmark. Denmark itself is located in Northern Europe, between the Scandinavian peninsula and Central Europe. With an area of approximately 43,000 km\u00b2<\/strong>, Denmark is somewhat larger than Switzerland, but smaller than Austria.<\/p>\n

Denmark has a population of 5.8 million people<\/strong>. The capital city Copenhagen<\/strong>, which is Denmark\u2019s economic and cultural center, is one of the most important major cities in all of Europe. Copenhagen has approximately 640,000 residents<\/strong>; nearly 1.4 million people live in the metropolitan area surrounding the port city.<\/p>\n

Denmark is a parliamentary monarchy, which is divided up into 5 regions and 98 municipalities. A local council is responsible for governing each of the municipalities, while a regional council governs each of the five regions.<\/p>\n

The regions are: Hovedstaden (Capital Region of Denmark<\/em>), Midtjylland (Region of Central Denmark<\/em>, largest city: Viborg; population 1.3 million), Nordjylland (Region of North Denmark<\/em>, largest city: Aalborg; population 590,000), Sjaelland (Region of Zealand<\/em>, largest city: Sor\u00f8 ; population 840,000) and Syddanmark (Region of Southern Denmark<\/em>, largest city: Vejle; population 1.2 million).<\/p>\n

As in the other Nordic countries, the standard of living in Denmark<\/strong> is high. In 2021, the GDP was US$398.3 billion<\/strong>, or approximately US$68,000 per capita. The main economic sectors in Denmark are the services sector, which in 2021 contributed about 65.69% of the GDP, and the industry sector, which contributed 20.21% of the GDP. Farming accounts for less than 1% of the national GDP, which is perhaps unsurprising given the relatively cold climate.<\/p>\n

Denmark is a founding member of the NATO<\/strong> military alliance and has been a member of the European economic community \/ the European Union<\/strong> since 1973. However, Denmark is not part of the Euro-zone; it still uses its own currency, which is the Danish krone (DKK).<\/strong> 1 krone is divided into 100 \u00f8re, although prices are typically\u00a0 listed in whole kroner. The smallest coin in circulation is the 50 \u00f8re coin.\u00a0 In recent years, the Danish krone has usually had an exchange rate of around 7.4 kroner per euro<\/strong>, give or take a tenth of a percentage point.<\/p>\n

Language and Localisation<\/h2>\n

Danish is the official language of Denmark<\/strong>, and is spoken by approximately 5 million Danes as their native language. Outside of Denmark, Danish is also spoken by about 50,000 people in the region of South Schleswig in Germany<\/a>, which is near the Danish border. In addition, it is spoken by residents of Iceland, Norway<\/a> and Sweden<\/a> as a foreign language. Since Denmark joined the European Communities (EC) in 1973, Danish has been one of the official languages of the EC\/EU.<\/p>\n

Danish is a Germanic\/Scandinavian language that is closely related to Icelandic, Swedish and Norwegian. The Scandinavian languages are often mutually intelligible to a certain degree, although each language has its own characteristics. Standard Danish is based on the variant of the language that is spoken near the capital city of Copenhagen.<\/p>\n

There is no legal requirement for foreign sellers to translate their websites into Danish<\/strong>. However, consumer protection laws require that if the product is advertised in the Danish language, then all<\/em> information related to the product must be made available in Danish. The only exception is if the consumer has explicitly agreed to receive the information in another language.<\/p>\n

Additionally, all documents containing important information (such as warranties and user manuals for \u201ctechnically advanced products\u201d) must be provided in a language which the consumer understands.<\/p>\n

Translation might well be a good choice, even if it is not legally required. That said, providing the important information in English might be sufficient, since all Danish schools require students to learn English, and nearly all Danes speak English at a very high level of competenc<\/strong>y. Nonetheless, marketing to consumers in their native language is \u2014 universally \u2014 a best practice. And if you are selling directly to Danish consumers, you\u2019ll need to have a dedicated website with prices listed in kroner, so you may as well take the chance to provide them with a fully localised shopping experience.<\/p>\n

Internet Usage Trends<\/h2>\n

Like the other Nordic countries, Denmark has an extremely high internet penetration rate. According to data from Statista, 95% of Danes have internet access<\/strong>. The 24 to 44 year-old cohort makes the largest \u2014 and most interesting \u2014 target group for digital commerce companies. They are constantly online and accustomed to making online purchases. It is estimated that 98% of this target group is online at least once per day. Danes prefer surfing on their smartphones and mobile devices, so it is essential that ecommerce sellers optimise their shops for mobile devices.<\/p>\n

In 2022, Facebook had the largest market share of all the social networks, with 59%. Instagram and Pinterest have amassed approximately 14% of the market share each, while Twitter has nearly 8% of the social media market share.<\/p>\n

Trends in purchasing behaviour for Danish consumers<\/h2>\n

According to Statista, 24% of Danish companies made ecommerce sales via a website as of 2020. In 2021, local ecommerce sales revenue was 132.9 billion kroner (approx. 12.2 billion euro), a number which has more than tripled since 2012.<\/p>\n

That number is unsurprising in light of how much Danish shoppers love to shop online. In 2021, Denmark had the highest per capita spending on ecommerce purchases in all of Europe<\/strong>, spending 2,916 euros per person. This beats out Norway and the UK by over 300 euros per capita. The most popular products for ecommerce are clothing and foodstuffs<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

The most popular payment methods in Denmark are debit and credit card<\/strong>, which was used by 52% of ecommerce consumers. The app MobilePay, which processes mobile payments, also has a significant market share with 22% of respondents saying they use it. Only 13% of Danish shoppers said that they use paypal, and only 4% choose online banking.<\/p>\n

The most popular Danish online store in 2021 was zalando.dk, with US$336 million in sales. This was followed by elgiganten.de with US$312 million. Apple.com and hm.com followed, with US$231 and US$220 million, respectively.<\/p>\n

Important details about import and customs in Denmark<\/h2>\n

Because Denmark is a member of the EU<\/strong>, there are no customs procedures to worry about for shipments from other EU member states. However, it should be noted that Greenland and the Faroe Islands are not part of the EU customs area. Regulations require that 5 copies of the necessary customs paperwork (in English) be included with all shipments to these areas.<\/p>\n

Businesses which are registered in Denmark must register for VAT<\/strong> in Denmark<\/strong> if their annual turnover is greater than 50,000 kroner (ca. 4,500 euros). Businesses registered in other EU countries and selling cross-border to Danish consumers<\/strong> must register for VAT in Denmark if the total annual cross-border revenue (to all other<\/em> EU member states) exceeds 10,000 euros.<\/p>\n

An online shop directed at Danish consumers must list prices including VAT<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Summary<\/h2>\n

Denmark is a small market, to be sure, but nonetheless it is an interesting target for EU businesses looking to expand. As a member of the EU, Denmark\u2019s customs and import rules will be familiar, and the language barrier is fairly easy to overcome \u2014 particularly because Danish consumers speak such excellent English. Even more importantly, they have disposable income and love to shop online. This means that businesses who target the Danish market will be able to do so with comparatively little effort and high chances of success.<\/p>\n
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Sources<\/strong><\/h2>\n