Icelandic online shopping is sailing like never before and this is fitting, as internet use is nowhere more widespread in Europe than in Iceland, where 99% of respondents use the Internet. The Covid-19 virus pandemic has played its part in accelerating the inevitable trend, but surprisingly, the increase between recent years is not significant.
Here we look at the results of research carried out by Eurostat on online shopping and the behaviour of individuals on the Internet in Iceland and elsewhere in Europe from 2011 until 1 June 2021. However, the focus will be mainly on last year and the first half of 2021. The study focuses on the age range 16-74 years.
In addition, we take a closer look at Icelandic online store in particular, looking at 44,000 orders from over 50 Icelandic online stores that have passed through Gorilla Warehouse from June 1, 2020 – to May 30, 2021. Together, these studies give exciting insights into online shopping in Iceland, the developments that are taking place and possibly what is to come in the coming years.
Internet usage in Iceland
- 99% of Icelanders aged 16-74 use the Internet. The proportion of the population using the Internet is nowhere higher in Europe than in Iceland (Iceland, Denmark and Luxembourg together come first with 99%). 98% of Icelanders say they use the internet every day (2020).
- Internet use is nowhere more widespread in Europe than in Iceland. This is considerably higher than in the other Nordic countries, which are trailing relatively closely behind with 94%.
- 94% of Icelanders are on and use social media. We are also European champions on this scale.
- 94% of Icelanders use the Internet and social media to find information about products and services (2020).
Online shopping in Iceland
- 83% of Icelanders aged 16-74 have ordered a product or service on the Internet in the last 12 months.
- Of those, 62% have shopped online in the last 3 months.
Icelandic online store
- 46% of Icelanders have shopped with Icelandic online stores in the last 3 months.
- 42% of Icelanders have shopped with foreign online stores in the last 3 months.
It is amazing that more people do business with Icelandic online store compared to foreign ones. That's great. What can we make of it? These findings are not available from a study by Eurostat, but likely hypotheses may, for example:
- Icelanders prefer to shop with Icelandic companies?
- Services to Icelanders may be better at Icelandic companies. For example, faster item delivery? Less trouble? More comfortable?
- Perhaps Icelanders prefer Icelandic shops.
It is very exciting and these figures show that it is possible to get 70% of consumers to be active in the national online store. This is likely to be the trend we will see in the coming years at home.
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36% of Icelanders say they have shopped with an online store located outside Europe in the last 3 months. These are arguably the most prominent US online retailers with Amazon (as well as a number of other companies) and Alibaba in China.
Iceland is by far at the top of the list of European nations shopping with online stores outside Europe.
Figures from Gorilla Warehouse
(Statistics from 43,796 orders processed by Gorilla Warehouse for 50+ Icelandic online stores over the 12-month period from June 2020 – May 2021).
Icelanders usually shop online on Tuesdays and generally more at the beginning of the week – on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays (47%). Otherwise, Icelanders seem to shop fairly evenly between weekdays.
What time of day do Icelanders prefer to shop?
Most people order around noon. The most common appointment time for the day is between 10am and 11am (8.2%) and between 11am and 12pm (8%). Most online store orders are made between 9am and 14pm (37%).
60% of orders in online shopping are made during working hours (8:00-17:00).
Orders by postal code / region
Residents of the capital area own 63% of orders from Icelandic online stores.
Here you can see a breakdown of orders in Icelandic online store by region/postal code of customers.
Transactions by type of store
32% of Icelanders aged 16-74 have bought clothes online in the last three months. In this category, we lag significantly behind neighbouring northern European countries – where large brands and clothing chains have established themselves well on the internet.
20% have shopped for furniture, gift items or other household goods online during the same period.
42% of Icelanders have bought groceries or refreshments online in the last 3 months. Interesting: Iceland'm here at the top of all European nations, which is just unbelievable. It's clear that Icelandic restaurants and shops have been quick to respond to the pandemic and jumped at this opportunity and done it well. This is very interesting and hopefully a great incentive for other restaurants, stores and services that have not yet updated their level of service to the web or in an app.
Iceland is also the highest proportion of consumers buying music, TV and other streaming providers online (45%). On our heels follow the other Nordic countries.
Compilation
94% of Icelanders aged 16-74 use the Internet to search for information about products and services and 83% shop via the web or app. More people do business with Icelandic online stores than foreign ones. 46% buy goods or services from Icelandic online stores every 3rd month period. In neighbouring countries this proportion is 70% and it can be estimated that in the coming years development will be in the same direction.
With this information, we can see in black and white how incredibly important it is to invest in a strong image and presence on the internet, a good website, digital advertising and product delivery processes – to meet inevitable trends in retail and ensure that the customer experience is positive from A-Z.
About Gorilla Warehouse
The gorilla is a central warehouse for online stores and wholesalers in Iceland. We handle product hosting, order processing and distribution across the country – so our customers can focus on what's most important to them – running great, profitable businesses and providing quality service.
Our goal is to enable retailers in Iceland to offer world-class product delivery – fast delivery and fastest distribution in Iceland so that satisfied customers keep coming back again and again.
More about Gorilla Warehouse on the website. Contact us here.
About the data
The results published in this article are derived on the one hand from a study by Eurostat on the use of information technology and the Internet by households and individuals. This is a study carried out in all European Statistical Cooperation countries in a coordinated manner. However, domestic order data is derived from the Gorilla Warehouse database. The set includes 43,796 orders processed by Gorilla Warehouse for 50+ Icelandic online stores over a 12-month period from June 2020 – May 2021).