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.

Country information

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).

Dropshipping in Norway

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:

The ecommerce market

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.

Internet use

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.

Product categories with high sales

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

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

Use of smartphones

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

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.

Logistics network

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.

Delivery methods

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.

Summary

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.

A top-class supplier: dropshippingXL

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:

What to read next: