Why should you start a dropshipping business in Norway?

Fueled by oil and gas exports, Norway is a quietly rich country - the richest in Scandinavia. The Norwegian population is an extremely efficient, technology-savvy, and well-educated labour force that enjoys a high standard of living in both its urban and rural areas. These are perfect conditions for a dropshipping market.

Location

Situated in the north of Europe, Norway is one of the Scandinavian countries, sharing borders with Sweden, Finland, and Russia. It became independent of Sweden in 1905.

Wealth

According to World Data Info in 2020, Norway was listed as the 11th wealthiest country in the world and the number one richest Scandinavian country. With a GDP of USD 62,645, Norway was placed ahead of Macao and below the United States.

Source of wealth

Norway's wealth is largely derived from its significant petroleum industry. Globally, Norway produces around 2-3% of crude oil (behind Saudi Arabia, Russia, the USA, Kuwait, and China), says 2020 data from Norsk Petroleum. As of 2020, Norway was the 10th biggest exporter of petroleum according to The Observatory of Economic Complexity (OEC).

Due to the wealth and high standard of living in Norway, it is a country with a lot of potential for business. These are some of the dropshipping benefits in Norway:

• 99% of the population have access to the internet
• There are more active mobile phones than people
• A high percentage of online shoppers
• There is room for new ecommerce players
• Amazon is not yet present in Norway
• Ecommerce market experienced 37% growth in 2020
• The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) expects the economy to grow by 4.2% in 2022
• Fashion, electronics, toys, hobby and DIY, and furniture are the most popular products purchased online
• Excellent logistics infrastructure and postal services

Norway has had an established ecommerce market for some years with a tech-savvy population that is willing to spend online. According to the International Trade Administration (ITA), 2021, Norway is one of the leading countries in Europe and the world for its adoption and use of ecommerce.

Ecommerce revenue

The ecommerce revenue of Norway in 2021 was almost USD 8 million, says ecommerceDB, with a predicted compound annual growth rate of 6% for 2021-2025.

In 2020 during the pandemic, ecommerce increased by 37% in comparison to usual growth levels of 8-10%, referring to data from the European Ecommerce Report by Ecommerce Europe, 2021. They found that ecommerce represented 3.29% of Norway's €327 billion GDP in 2021.

Norwegians are extremely well-connected to the internet with an internet adoption rate of around 99% (5.39 million people) according to data from Eurostat, 2021. Around 83% of the population (4.53 million people) actively use social media with 25-34-year-olds as the biggest age bracket that advertisers can reach, says DataReportal.

Referring to research from ecommerceDB, in 2021 these were the ecommerce products with the most sales:

• Fashion (27%)
• Electronic and media (23%)
• Toys, hobbies, and DIY (21%)
• Food and personal care (17%)
• Furniture and appliances (12%)

These are the ecommerce innovations that Norweigan online shoppers would like to see, according to a Statista survey in 2022:

• Personalised product recommendations (Gen Z 54%, Millennials 44%, Gen X 47%, Baby Boomers 32%)
• Seamless omnichannel presence (Gen Z 41%, Millennials 36%, Gen X 26%, Baby Boomers 21%)
• Frictionless payment (Gen Z 41%, Millennials 43%, Gen X 47%, Baby Boomers 42%)
• Virtual/Augmented reality (Gen Z 38%, Millennials 43%, Gen X 37%, Baby Boomers 31%)

Statistics Norway reported that 96% of the Norweigan population had a smartphone in 2021. The most popular smartphone activities in 2021 were using the internet (86%), texting (82%), and calling (81%).

This figure has grown significantly since 2018 says Statista, when only 61% of Norweigan survey respondents made a purchase online using their smartphone.

The same researchers found that smartphones are used more for accessing the internet than on desktop computers (92%). The important take-away from this is for advertising. Entrepreneurs interested in selling in Norway should make sure their websites are responsive for mobile users.

Competition in Norway for ecommerce is not as challenging as other European countries. It is intereseting that Amazon is not yet present in Norway, which creates a huge opportunity for dropshippers. While Amazon has been introduced in Sweden, Norwegians use Amazon.co.uk if they want to make a purchase from this ecommerce giant.

One of the biggest players is Zalando, however as they sell fashion and accessories, there is plenty of room for dropshipping newcomers that specialise in other product categories.

Norway has a challenging terrain for logistics due to rugged mountains, valleys, high plateaus, and the arctic tundra in the north, in addition to a scattered population. A marketing report by Frost & Sullivan in 2018 mentions that the development of logistics hubs close to the main highways and government investment into the transport sector ensure excellent logistics in Norway.

According to Statista, 2021, the most popular choice for online shopping delivery is a mailbox or carrier mailbox. 44% of Norwegians prefer this method rather than their home address. Only 18% of those surveyed said that they would prefer delivery to their house even if a signature isn't required.

Overall, with Norway's vast wealth, low emigration rates, low unemployment rates, and a modern population that enjoy shopping online, dropshipping is a business that could be very prosperous in this Scandinavian country.

By signing up with the dropshippingXL programme, entrepreneurs can offer a variety of high-quality and affordable goods to Norwegian consumers in product categories including home and garden furniture, pet supplies, baby products, sporting equipment, and hobby and DIY.

Reasons to choose dropshippingXL:

• Over 90,000 products to choose from
• Warehouses in the Netherlands and Poland for fast delivery across Europe
• Customer orders and returns handled by us
• Support from our business and technical team
• Only €30 per month with no hidden charges
• Zero commission on sales

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