The nicotine segment thrives as overall turnover declines: Swedish E-commerce in March
The Swedish Retail Federation's (Svensk Handel) e-commerce indicator for March shows a decline in e-commerce turnover. Measured in Swedish consumers' e-commerce from only Swedish operators the turnover decreased by 3 per cent compared with the same month last year and by 5 per cent if e-commerce from abroad is also included. However, the first quarter of 2023 saw a 51 per cent growth in turnover for the nicotine and tobacco products category compared to last year.
According to the report, e-commerce turnover experienced a downturn in March, following a positive trend in February. E-commerce growth in 2022 and 2023 struggled to keep up with the substantial increases seen during the pandemic years of 2020 and 2021. Svensk Handel attributes this to the retail sector facing exceptionally low demand, with the weakest volume growth since the Swedish 90s crisis.
The report also highlights that most major product categories experienced a decline in turnover during the first quarter of 2023 compared to the same period in the previous year. Only four categories demonstrated growth: nicotine and tobacco products (51 per cent), clothing and footwear (11 per cent), car, boat, or motorbike accessories (5 per cent), and pharmaceuticals (1 per cent).
“We are, of course, pleased with this market development in Sweden. At the same time, these figures should be seen in the light of the nicotine segment in e-commerce growing from low levels. This shows a significant market potential to convert buyers from traditional retail to e-commerce”, says Markus Lindblad, Head of External Affairs.
Svensk Handel is a Swedish trade- and employer organisation which engages in trading issues for wholesale, retail and e-commerce. Every month Svensk Handel conducts an interview-based study to report how Swedish e-commerce has developed during the period.
Access the full report (in Swedish) here.
