Verkkokauppapulssi: Growth in domestic e-commerce is accelerating – expectations for the Christmas season are high

According to the recent Verkkokauppapulssi* survey by Digital Commerce Finland, the Federation of Finnish Special Commodity Trade ETU and the Finnish Commerce Federation, the growth of e-commerce in Finland continued and even accelerated slightly in the third quarter of the year. Meanwhile, according to Statistics Finland, sales in the retail sector as a whole increased by 3.8 per cent.

Part of the growth in e-commerce has come from the fact that more people than before, 77 per cent of the adult population, have made digital purchases during January–September, while the share was four percentage points lower last year.

”The growth of general purchasing power has supported e-commerce sales in Finland. The decline in the popularity of Chinese websites is also evident,” says Jaana Kurjenoja, Chief Economist of the Finnish Commerce Federation.

Online retailers’ expectations of growth for the upcoming Christmas season are more hopeful than in the corresponding period last year. Nearly 78 per cent of online retailers expect their sales to grow at the end of the year when compared to the previous three months, and 36 per cent of online retailers expect growth of at least 10 per cent.

Expectations of growth for sales in Finland in the entire coming year are also still strong, but they have no longer picked up since the figures in the early part of the year.

”Online retailers are clearly afraid that consumption, which has already started to recover, will be negatively affected by the weakening consumer confidence and cuts to purchasing power in Finland,” says Mirva Sandström, Director at Digital Commerce Finland.

Online retailers’ expectations of growth for sales abroad have improved throughout the year. At the same time, however, logistics that have become more expensive and the European Union’s regulations are slowing down expectations of growth for cross-border sales. Especially the EU’s new Decree on Packaging and Packaging Waste (PPWR) continues to raise concerns.

”Specialty goods trade is seeking growth from abroad, but in addition to expensive logistics and administrative burden, the internationalisation of smaller online retailers is limited by the lack of their own marketing resources,” says Jenni Homer, Managing Director of the Federation of Finnish Special Commodity Trade.

Verkkokauppapulssi kuva Q3 2026

* Verkkokauppapulssi is a quarterly e-commerce market monitoring. It combines the information obtained from the company survey with the overview provided by different sources of the development of the Finnish e-commerce market. The company survey typically receives responses from approximately 100–200 companies.

The online stores that complete the survey gain access to a separate Verkkokauppapulssi report.

Jaana Kurjenoja, Chief Economist of the Finnish Commerce Federation, is responsible for producing the content of the report.

For further information, please contact:

Jaana Kurjenoja, Chief Economist, Finnish Commerce Federation
Tel. +358 (0)40 820 5378, jaana.kurjenoja(at)kauppa.fi

Mirva Sandström, Digital Commerce Director, Digital Commerce Finland
Tel. +358 (0)400 984 141, mirva.sandstrom(at)digitalcommerce.fi

Jenni Homer, Managing Director, Federation of Finnish Special Commodity Trade (ETU)
Tel. +358 (0)40 900 6389, jenni.homer(at)etu.fi