.png)
Act before the market
The retail industry is in the midst of profound transformation driven by two interconnected forces: the convergence of retail and e-commerce into a hybrid landscape, and the rapid integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI). These forces aren't just altering shopping habits - they're reshaping the entire retail value chain from manufacturing to fulfilment. McKinsey identifies these as key economic game-changers (putting aside broader geopolitical factors).
E-commerce has evolved beyond a simple digital channel into three overlapping segments:
• Manufacturers going Direct-to-Consumer (DTC): Brands like Nike, Zara, and Dyson build direct customer relationships through digital storefronts and direct shipments.
• Pure-Play digital platforms: Born-digital platforms like Zalando and ASOS innovate with personalisation and logistics, with some even branching into physical flagship stores.
• Traditional retailers adopting digital: Giants like IKEA and Walmart are integrating physical and digital experiences seamlessly.
These segments are merging into a highly competitive ecosystem where agility and market intelligence are essential. This blending doesn't simplify competition - it intensifies it, demanding constant vigilance and adaptability.
AI has moved from futuristic concept to operational necessity. Retailers leverage AI for personalised recommendations, dynamic pricing, predictive inventory management, and customer service automation, enabling smarter, faster, and more profitable operations.
Additionally, the expansion of cloud computing and the explosion of available data provide new opportunities to understand market dynamics in real-time. Historically, analysing every shelf in Europe was unthinkable; today, online data combined with AI makes large-scale, real-time market analysis entirely feasible.
A strategic framework for AI-enabled retail
Staying ahead requires a structured approach. Recently, Shish Shridhar from our partner Microsoft shared a strategic framework leveraging real-time data, AI, and automation, highlighting essential levers to drive growth.
Place – Sales channels: physical, digital, hybrid
Product – Assortment depth, availability
Value – Pricing strategy, perceived customer value
People – Customer service, store experience
Communication – Marketing, promotions, loyalty programmes
Systems – Technology infrastructure, analytics, automation
Logistics – Efficient supply chain, fulfilment methods, delivery
Suppliers – Vendor management, sourcing and COGS
At Tembi, we equip retailers and brands with large-scale market analytics derived from real-time data. We continuously track over 600,000 online retailers and 300 million products across Europe - among the largest datasets in the industry. By connecting this data with location specifics, company details, and AI-powered analytics, commercial teams gain clarity and confidence in decision-making, eliminating guesswork when it comes to understanding what drives growth.
As I see it, by unifying data across digital and physical touch points, market intelligence at scale enables smarter decisions in Product, Value, and Systems - helping businesses thrive in a hybrid, AI-first retail world.
• Based on the product categories that you excel in - which markets are then optimal, and in which geographies would it be optimal to promote and sell your products.
• If you have or plan to set up physical stores how are they threatened and compared to online retailers, and how is the specific area you think about investing in evolving. This will show whether you can expect optimal levels for sales per store and store traffic.
• Predict which product categories and brands to invest in, when you decide where to play - which product segments are you in with which brand and pricing strategies to drive market share and inventory turnover and hence sales growth.
• Understand the competition in the product categories and brands you are in and the strengths and strategies of the other players in the market.
Improve out-of stock-rate by finding out when products are sold over the year and if that differs in different geographies, and thereby make sure that availability is secured.
• Understand the current (or seasonality-defined) pricing in the market to increase gross margin, right-in-time markdowns, and possibility for price skimming but get an actual X-ray about the real price development in the market.
• When being present in the market, or especially entering a new one, you need to know how to make it successful. One of the important things to understand delivery market standards in different markets, e.g. OOH, home delivery, free shipping thresholds, delivery time etc. Some D2C try to negotiate a pan-European delivery contract without factoring ion the different market dynamics, or simply enter with the wrong expectations. This quickly becomes very expensive - e.g. if the customers are used to home deliveries and you go in the market wth parcel boxes, you would need to wait for that to be changed. Hence, very important to understand if you model fits to assure fulfilment accuracy.
Success in modern retail isn’t about choosing between physical and digital - it’s about blending them intelligently. In the era defined by AI and hybrid commerce, tools like Tembi provide retailers the crucial insights required to navigate complexity.
Whether you’re a DTC manufacturer, a digital-first retailer expanding your reach, or a traditional retailer enhancing your omnichannel strategy, winning demands strategic clarity grounded in data and real-time market intelligence.
How a Last-Mile delivery commercial team used Tembi to reach online retailers when they were most likely to engage.
A last mile delivery provider was looking to improve how and when they approached new merchant prospects. While they had a solid understanding of who they wanted to work with, outreach often happened too early (before the merchant was ready to switch) or too late (after a competitor had locked in a contract).
Without visibility into what was changing in the merchant’s checkout, reps had to rely on cold outreach, hoping to catch a merchant at the right moment. They needed a way to:
Using Tembi Checkout Intelligence, the team started monitoring live changes in merchant checkout configurations. Tembi scrapers simulate checkout flows on thousands of webshops and detect:
The team set up biweekly alerts on merchants that matched their ICP and showed recent changes in their delivery stack. This created a dynamic feed of prospects likely to be re-evaluating logistics partners, so an ideal timing for outreach.
The team didn’t need to chase every webshop in a market. Instead, they focused on high-potential accounts showing signs of change. Over a six-week period, they:
Timing their approach based on real signals helped them avoid wasted effort and start conversations when interest was highest.
✅ Actionable timing signals was more effective than cold outreach
✅ Changes tracked automatically from actual checkout flows
✅ Focus on merchants in motion who are more likely to convert
✅ Fewer dead ends - reps only acted when there was a reason to reach out
A last mile delivery provider operating across several European countries needed to give its regional sales & partnerships team a clearer picture of how competing providers were positioned locally. Without reliable data, the team depended on anecdotal feedback from merchants or patchy CRM notes about which providers were in use. This made it difficult to:
• Prepare for calls with accurate competitor insight
• Spot new merchant opportunities based on delivery gaps
• Build region-specific messaging around speed, tracking, or price
They weren’t seeking a broad market expansion strategy, just precise, local visibility to sharpen commercial conversations.
Using Tembi Checkout Intelligence, the team pulled data on hundreds of webshops in their target region. Tembi’s technology visits every retailer with an active webshop and creates visibility into checkout flows and extracts structured data on:
• Which delivery providers are actually offered
• Delivery speeds and prices
• Labels and methods (e.g. express, standard, tracked) in use
• Recent changes - such as a provider being added or removed
• Images of how delivery options were presented
The data, updated every two weeks, enabled quick filtering by platform (e.g. Shopify, WooCommerce), product category, and country/area. Local sales teams gained a trusted, up-to-date view of the real delivery landscape.
With provider usage clearly mapped for their target region, the team could:
• Enter sales calls with confidence, knowing which competitor was in place
• Spot merchants lacking tracked or fast delivery options
• Tailor outreach to emphasise service gaps (e.g. slow delivery, high fees)
• Build target lists of merchants using weaker providers for displacement opportunities
No major strategic shift - just sharper conversations, better timing, and stronger commercial positioning at the local level. With a 20% increase in conversion.
• Data based on real checkout flows - not assumptions or outdated lists
• Biweekly updates kept teams working with fresh information
• Easy filtering by region and platform enabled targeted, local action
• Directly supported pre-call research, personalised outreach, and competitive mapping
Interested in exploring how Checkout Data and Webshop Monitoring can help you grow your sales? Book a call with one of our Last-mile data experts. Book a demo
Today we’re rolling out Product Insights – a new tool that instantly breaks down the product catalogue of almost any webshop. By continuously monitoring 600,000 webshops and over 300 million products, Product Insights helps users find answers to questions that used to take days of manual work.
Understanding a retailer's product portfolio has always been a challenge – especially at scale. Tembi’s Product Insights structures each webshop’s catalogue based on Google’s product taxonomy (with over 2,000 sub-categories). Select a category, explore which sub-categories are sold, and get a clear view of the retailer’s product strategy.
Product Insights also lets you track trends over time. What categories are growing? Which brands are expanding? What product types are being phased out? With bi-weekly updates, your market understanding becomes sharper, faster, and far more granular than ever before.
See exactly which brands a webshop sells, the total number of SKUs, and how they’re distributed across product categories. Our time-series view lets you pinpoint when a retailer expands or trims its range – whether that means adding 50 new kitchen appliances in March or dropping three footwear brands in May. Drill down by category or brand to understand growth spurts, assortment gaps, and strategic shifts at a glance.
Visualise a webshop’s entire catalogue by weight and dimensions in one interactive chart. The horizontal axis splits product prices into six bands; the vertical axis divides weights into six ranges. Each bubble’s size shows how many items fall into that combined bracket.
Go beyond individual retailers and tap into broader market movements. With Product Insights, you can zoom out and analyse how categories, brands, and product types are evolving across the entire e-commerce landscape in Europe (18 markets).
See which product categories are gaining momentum, what brands are expanding their reach, and how average product sizes or prices are shifting. Filter by country, industry or platform to spot changes in consumer demand, pricing trends, or assortment strategies.
Whether you're a brand manager trying to spot gaps, a logistics provider tracking shipping implications, or a buyer evaluating sourcing decisions – Product Insights turns market noise into clear, structured signals.
Instantly compare any retailer with others and uncover new prospects. Tembi’s Similar Webshops feature identifies other webshops with matching assortment structures, traffic levels, and category focus.
It’s a fast way to benchmark a client against competitors – or to find high-potential leads you might otherwise miss. Want to compare delivery providers across similar stores? Or find out how two apparel retailers differ in average price point and category spread? Just click “Full comparison” and dive into the details.
You can also scan for rising players in your segment. Use Similar Webshops to uncover up-and-coming stores with fast-growing assortments – perfect for partnership, outreach, or competitive monitoring.
Product Insights is available now on Tembi. Whether you're tracking competitors, mapping out market shifts or sourcing prospects – the data you need is finally structured, searchable, and updated every two weeks.
Want to know more? Book a demo today!
Across Europe, the last-mile delivery landscape is rapidly evolving, driven by consumer preferences, sustainability pressures, and regulatory changes. Recent data from delivery providers, postal services, and consumer surveys across 13 European countries - Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Norway, Italy, the Netherlands, Slovakia, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Hungary, Bulgaria, and Romania - reveals distinct regional patterns in how online purchases reach consumers.
A recent analysis from our e-commerce database, based on data from over 140,000 webshops across these countries, provides deeper insights into how extensively online retailers offer different delivery methods.
Nordic countries have strongly adopted out-of-home (OOH) delivery methods, including parcel shops and lockers. Sweden traditionally favours parcel shops, with Tembi’s data showing 36.1% of Swedish webshops offering this method. Denmark stands out with parcel shop deliveries offered by 57.6% of webshops, reflecting extensive and convenient networks.
Finland is a leader in parcel locker adoption - 34.1% of Finnish webshops offer locker delivery, supported by a widespread network of accessible 24/7 lockers. Norway balances between home (52.1% of webshops) and parcel shop deliveries (33%), with locker installations growing at 9%, indicating increasing preference for flexible, automated solutions.
Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania showcase exceptional acceptance of parcel lockers. In Estonia, a remarkable 71.8% of webshops offer parcel lockers, validating Estonia’s leadership in locker infrastructure. Lithuania and Latvia follow closely, with 66.4% and 54.7% respectively offering parcel lockers, strongly supporting consumer preferences for convenience and reduced environmental impact.
In Western Europe, the Netherlands strongly prefers collect-yourself options, with Tembi data showing 76.4% of Dutch webshops offer this method. Home delivery remains prevalent, offered by 27.5% of retailers, aligning with the Dutch consumer's primary preference for doorstep delivery but complemented significantly by collect-yourself options.
Italy, traditionally a home-delivery market, now shows a strong adoption of collect-yourself options, offered by 64.9% of Italian webshops. Out-of-home delivery is now Italy's second most popular delivery option after home delivery, driven by convenience and reliability.
Eastern European markets like Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, and Bulgaria traditionally favoured home delivery but now rapidly integrate OOH options. Slovakia prominently features home delivery (76.9%) but also offers parcel shops through 42.9% of webshops, echoing the region's evolving preferences.
Hungary continues to favour home delivery significantly (82.6%), but parcel lockers have rapidly expanded, with about 37.7% of webshops offering this method. Romania, while strongly home-delivery oriented (83.9%), sees parcel lockers emerging as supplementary (21.2%).
Bulgaria uniquely highlights workplace delivery, offered by 36.2% of online retailers, underscoring its importance in urban logistics. This method provides practical advantages in urban areas where home deliveries may face reliability challenges.
Belgium recently mandated online retailers offer at least two delivery options at checkout, including one eco-friendly alternative such as parcel shops or lockers. Effective from 2024, this regulation aims to reduce failed deliveries, lower emissions, and encourage sustainable consumer choices (bpost, 2024). This legislative move sets a precedent that other European countries might soon follow.
Parcel lockers and out-of-home delivery significantly reduce last-mile delivery emissions, potentially cutting CO₂ by approximately 30% compared to home delivery, especially when consumers collect parcels using sustainable transport methods (McKinsey, 2024). Dense networks of lockers and collection points, common in Estonia, Finland, and the Netherlands, enhance urban delivery efficiency, reduce traffic congestion, and improve consumer satisfaction.
European last-mile delivery is undeniably trending towards flexible, sustainable methods that reflect varied regional consumer behaviours. As OOH options mature and consumer awareness grows, home delivery will increasingly coexist with alternative methods. Carriers and retailers who proactively adapt will lead in delivering not just parcels, but also consumer satisfaction and sustainability.
European online payments are shaped by a mix of global platforms and strong local preferences. Below we break down the key payment providers across eight countries – Belgium, Switzerland, Denmark, Finland, Italy, Norway, and Sweden – highlighting who’s active in each market, how they fare in B2B vs B2C, and domestic vs cross-border trends. We also discuss how platform-native solutions (like Shopify Payments and PayPal integrations) enable cross-market reach.
The analysis is based on 208.035 webshops monitored by Tembi with data from the 21st of May 2025.
Belgium - 18.237 active webshops
Switzerland - 30.007
Denmark - 32.370
Finland - 15.912
Italy - 63.672
Norway - 15.032
Sweden - 32.805
Belgian e-commerce is dominated by Bancontact, the national debit scheme, which remains by far the favourite online payment method – about 73% of Belgian shoppers prefer Bancontact and 70% use it most often (retaildetail.eu). Credit cards, once top, now take a secondary role mainly for higher-value purchases (pay.com.)
Key Providers and Roles:
Domestic vs international adoption
Domestically, a Belgian online shopper expects to see Bancontact at checkout – it’s a trust signal and caters to local payment habits. International e-commerce players entering Belgium must integrate Bancontact (often via Shopify Payments or Adyen) to localise their offering (retaildetail.eu). Conversely, Belgian merchants aiming cross-border include methods like PayPal and credit cards to accommodate foreign customers who can’t use Bancontact. Thus, Belgian sites serving neighboring markets often support both local and global methods. This dual approach (Bancontact + an international wallet) is common in Belgium’s e-commerce, ensuring both local and cross-border sales are covered.
Switzerland’s payment mix is unusually diverse. Traditionally, bank transfers and invoices have been extremely popular – as of 2023, bank transfers (including pay-by-invoice) were projected to account for ~46% of Swiss e-commerce transactions (pay.com) Cards are also widely used (52% of online transactions, mostly credit cards in online contexts (pay.com). But the biggest shake-up has come from Twint, the Swiss mobile payments app. In recent years Twint has surged to become the dominant online payment method: it’s now accepted in roughly 4 out of 5 Swiss online shops (twint.ch) and counts over 5 million active users in a country of ~8.7 million (pay.com).
Key Providers and Roles:
Domestic vs international
The Swiss market is small but high-spending, and cross-border e-commerce is significant (many Swiss buy from German, French, or global sites). Domestic shops therefore try to offer a mix of local and international methods. For instance, a Swiss webshop will almost certainly offer Twint and PostFinance for locals, but also Visa/Mastercard and PayPal to appeal to everyone (including cross-border shoppers or expatriates). International retailers entering Switzerland often integrate Twint now – given its reach, not having Twint could alienate a big chunk of local customers. At the same time, Swiss consumers use credit cards and PayPal especially when shopping on foreign sites, since those universally work. This dynamic means successful cross-border sellers into Switzerland either enable local methods via a PSP (Adyen, etc.) or rely on the Swiss buyer falling back to a credit card or PayPal. In summary, Swiss e-commerce shows a dual nature: traditional methods (bank transfer/invoice) remain very strong at home (pay.com), but mobile and global solutions are rapidly overlaying to facilitate seamless buying both domestically and across borders.
Denmark is a card-centric country with a twist – nearly every Dane has a Dankort (the national debit card, typically co-branded with Visa), so card payments have long been the norm. In 2024, about 37% of Danish online consumers cited paying by card as their primary method (ecommercenews.eu). Close on its heels, however, is MobilePay, used by roughly 33% of online shoppers as their preferred option (ecommercenews.eu). MobilePay, a mobile wallet linked to card or bank accounts, has become nearly ubiquitous (over 90% of Danes have the app, and virtually all younger adults do (statista.com)). PayPal and other methods exist but are less prominent – a few years ago PayPal accounted for ~13% of Danish online payments (oosga.com), and it remains a common option particularly for cross-border purchases. Overall, Denmark’s landscape mixes global card infrastructure with highly adopted local fintech solutions.
Key Providers and Roles:
Domestic vs International Adoption
Danish online retailers focus on domestic preferences first – supporting Dankort/Visa and MobilePay to cover the vast majority of local transactions. Cross-border, Denmark has a high rate of consumers buying from abroad (over half shop abroad monthly (ecommercenews.eu), so Danish merchants also consider methods that international shoppers use. This means accepting foreign Visa/Mastercards (no problem via standard acquiring) and often keeping PayPal available. International merchants selling into Denmark are wise to enable MobilePay – increasingly, payment platforms (like Stripe or Adyen or Shopify Payments) let them do so easily. We see that cross-border giants (Amazon, etc.) have started to include MobilePay for Danish customers. In summary, domestic Danish e-commerce is characterised by card and MobilePay dominance, whereas cross-border commerce relies more on international card networks and PayPal – but the gap is closing as local methods become accessible to foreign merchants too.
Finnish online shoppers have a strong preference for direct bank payments. Rather than using individual bank buttons, Finland streamlined this through Paytrail, an aggregator that connects all major Finnish banks. As a result, online bank transfer solutions like Paytrail are the top choice for Finns (aboutpayments.com). According to industry info, Finnish consumers most prefer paying via their internet banking through services such as Paytrail or Trustly (aboutpayments.com). Cards are of course used as well, but historically Finland has seen lower credit card usage online than many other European countries. Instead, debit cards via bank transfer and recently mobile wallets are prominent. MobilePay (imported from Denmark) has also gained traction in Finland – it’s available and used by many, though not yet as dominant as in Denmark. Klarna is popular in Finland too (Finland was an early Klarna expansion market), and invoice payments are fairly common for certain purchases. In summary, Finland’s payment scene is a mix of bank-centric methods and a few select international options.
Key Providers and Roles:
Domestic vs International
Finnish e-commerce is quite domestic-focused in method – a Finnish shopper expects to pay through their bank or an invoice. International merchants expanding to Finland often partner with Paytrail or a similar PSP to offer localized bank payments, because without those, they’d miss a large portion of sales. The prevalence of English-speaking Finns means many do shop on international sites, where they might then use a credit card or PayPal if Finnish bank options aren’t available. Indeed, PayPal is accepted on many Finnish sites (though not top-five in preference, it’s present on ~8,300 Finnish webshops per our data), functioning as a catch-all for cross-border transactions (e.g. paying a non-Finnish merchant). Adoption trends show that methods like Paytrail keep domestic transactions flowing in local currency and language, whereas global platforms like PayPal or card networks come into play for cross-border. Additionally, Finland being in the Eurozone makes cross-border shopping easier (no currency swap issues), so credit cards are slightly more used for EU-wide shopping. Finnish merchants, to expand abroad, will lean on PSPs that support international cards, PayPal, and possibly multi-currency – many use Stripe (found on ~4,200 Finnish sites) or Adyen for that reason. In sum, Finland has a strong local backbone (bank payments) that any entrant must integrate, and a willingness to layer global methods on top for broader reach.
Local Payment Landscape: Italy stands out for the prominence of PayPal in e-commerce. Italians have historically been cautious about online payments, leading them to gravitate towards PayPal for its perceived safety and buyer protection. Recent surveys show about 63% of Italian online consumers used PayPal in the past month, and 39% prefer PayPal over any other method – making it the #1 choice by far (rapyd.net). Credit and debit cards are of course used (especially with the widespread CartaSi/VISA and MasterCard), but only ~11% of Italians picked credit cards as their first choice, according to the same study (rapyd.net). Interestingly, a uniquely Italian method, the PostePay prepaid card (issued by the postal service), ranks high – about 12% choose it as their top payment method (rapyd.net). PostePay is essentially a reloadable Visa/Mastercard, and its popularity reflects Italians’ preference for controlled, cash-loaded spending. Cash on delivery (contrassegno) still lingers as an option in Italy for some categories, though its share is decreasing as digital payments grow. Overall, Italy’s online payment mix is a blend of global wallets, card networks (often through domestic brands like CartaSi or PostePay), and some remaining traditional methods.
Key Providers and Roles:
Domestic vs International
Italian merchants historically catered to domestic buyers’ preferences (hence a heavy emphasis on PayPal). Now, with cross-border e-commerce growing (two-thirds of Italian shoppers have bought from international sites (rapyd.net)), Italian merchants are expanding their payment options. Many are adding methods like Amazon Pay (since Italians shop on Amazon’s platforms), or enabling multi-currency credit card processing to attract foreign customers. Likewise, foreign companies selling to Italy have learned that including PayPal at checkout is crucial – a UK or German site that adds PayPal might suddenly convert many more Italian buyers who trust PayPal over entering card details. We see platform-native solutions smoothing this process: for example, Shopify Payments allows a foreign merchant to offer Italian shoppers local payment options (like bonifico via Sofort or appropriate localized card forms) without that merchant needing an Italian banking relationship. Additionally, services like Klarna have recently launched in Italy as well, aiming to introduce more pay-later options; their usage is nascent but growing for cross-border purchases (e.g. an Italian buying from a German shop might use Klarna). In summary, Italy’s e-commerce shows a stark local preference for PayPal and familiar tools, and both domestic and international sellers adjust to that reality – often by prominently featuring PayPal, offering prepaid-friendly options, and maintaining trust signals. The reliance on platform solutions (PayPal, Amazon Pay, etc.) also lowers the friction of cross-border commerce for Italian consumers, effectively bridging domestic habits with international retail.
Norway’s consumers are highly digital and spend a lot online. Card payments are extremely common – in fact, Norway has one of the highest per-capita card usage rates. Cards (debit and credit combined) account for roughly 43% of all retail transactions (online and offline) in Norway (pay.com). The majority of these are through BankAxept, Norway’s domestic debit card system, which is co-branded with Visa/Mastercard for international acceptance (pay.com). Alongside cards, Norway has a very strong mobile payments culture thanks to Vipps, a mobile wallet app used by most Norwegians. Vipps has cornered the digital wallet market in Norway (pay.com), meaning alternatives like Apple Pay or Google Pay are secondary (though available). Klarna and other pay-later options are also popular – Norway, like other Nordics, embraced Klarna early for splitting or delaying payments. PayPal exists but plays a smaller role in day-to-day domestic payments (around 7% share of online transactions as per Norges Bank (pay.com)), used mainly for cross-border shopping. In summary, Norway’s landscape features high card usage with a layer of mobile wallet convenience and BNPL flexibility.
Key Providers and Roles:
Domestic vs International
Norway’s e-commerce players pay attention to both local preferences and the fact that Norway is outside the EU (which affects cross-border trade, VAT, etc.). Domestically, a Norwegian merchant will emphasize Vipps and Klarna alongside cards to maximize conversions – these are what local shoppers expect. Internationally, Norwegian merchants know that foreign customers won’t have Vipps, so they ensure card payments (Visa/Mastercard) and PayPal are available. Many also support Klarna’s global offering in other markets (since Klarna operates across Europe and even the US, a Norwegian merchant can offer pay-later to customers in those countries via Klarna). Moreover, with high English proficiency, Norwegians frequently shop abroad; when they do, they typically use cards or PayPal – indeed PayPal’s main utility in Norway is for cross-border purchases (pay.com). This behavior influences Norwegian e-commerce sites too: for example, the prevalence of PayPal on Norwegian sites is partly to reassure and facilitate sales to non-Norwegians (and to Norwegians who might prefer it in certain situations). Another interesting point is that as part of the Vipps-MobilePay merger, Nordic payment integration is improving – soon a Danish customer might pay a Norwegian shop with MobilePay and it seamlessly works with Vipps (and vice versa). This will strengthen cross-Nordic commerce by leveraging each country’s local wallet. In summary, Norway shows a pattern seen in the Nordics: very high local adoption of innovative payments, and a parallel support of global methods to engage in cross-border commerce.
Sweden’s online payment landscape has two giants: Klarna and Swish. It’s often said that “everyone in Sweden uses Swish,” and that’s barely an exaggeration – about 98% of Swedish adults have Swish installed and ~95% use it regularly (ergomania.eu). Swish is a mobile payment system (bank account-linked) originally for P2P but now widely used in e-commerce and even brick-and-mortar. On the other hand, Klarna’s pay-later services (invoice, installment, etc.) account for a huge portion of Swedish e-commerce – over 50% of online transactions by value are open invoice payments (adyen.com) - many of those facilitated by Klarna and a handful of competitors. Credit/debit cards remain popular too (especially for some online services and travel), but Sweden stands out in that invoices/payment after delivery are the single largest category, surpassing cards (adyen.com). This is rooted in consumer behavior: Swedes historically liked to receive goods and pay by invoice, a practice that fintechs like Klarna turned into a smooth digital experience. Meanwhile, Swish’s instant bank transfers are siphoning off transactions that might have been card or cash. PayPal exists and is used in Sweden, but given the strong local options, it’s not a leading method for domestic shopping. Overall, Sweden is extremely advanced: high smartphone usage, multiple fintech solutions, and consumers comfortable with alternative payments.
Key Providers and Roles:
Domestic vs International: Swedish e-commerce players are very outward-looking (Swedes buy from international sites and Swedish sites sell abroad, especially to the EU). For domestic sales, not offering Klarna or Swish is almost unthinkable for a mainstream merchant – you’d lose too many sales. For cross-border, Swedish merchants rely on those platform capabilities: Klarna is expanding in many markets, so a Swedish merchant can offer Klarna in, say, Germany or the UK to attract foreign customers similarly. Swish, however, is domestic; a non-Swedish customer cannot use Swish, so Swedish merchants must also have card payments and PayPal to cover foreigners. This they generally do – either via a PSP or via Klarna Checkout (which by default shows local Swedish options but can fall back to card for others). International merchants entering Sweden often partner with Klarna to quickly gain local credibility. It’s common for foreign brands launching Swedish sites to heavily feature Klarna and Swish logos – it signals to Swedish shoppers that “you can trust and pay easily here”. Additionally, Sweden’s high trust in fintech means new entrants can get traction – e.g. Stripe is used by many startups in Sweden and can process Swish via plugins, so newcomers can offer Swish with minimal effort. Platform-native solutions like Shopify Payments also support local methods in Sweden (Shopify merchants can enable Klarna and Swish through integrations), which lowers the barrier for smaller foreign merchants to sell to Swedes. A noteworthy cross-border trend is the Nordics integration: with Vipps, MobilePay, and Swish collaborating, a merchant in one Nordic country might soon accept a wallet payment from a neighboring country’s app seamlessly. This will further blur domestic vs international in the Nordic region’s payments. All told, Sweden’s market is characterized by extremely strong local preferences (Swish, invoicing) that any successful player must adapt to, and a parallel accommodation of global methods for complete coverage. Swedish consumers will happily use a local method if available, but if shopping on a foreign site, they might use a card or PayPal – however, their expectation now is that more and more foreign sites will cater to them with Swedish methods.
One recurring theme across all these countries is the role of platform-native payment integrations – especially on popular e-commerce platforms like Shopify and WooCommerce – in streamlining cross-border payment acceptance. Two prime examples are Shopify Payments (with its local method support) and PayPal’s ubiquitous plugins.
Shopify Payments (and Shop Pay)
Shopify Payments is the built-in payment gateway for Shopify merchants, powered behind the scenes by providers like Stripe/Adyen. Crucially, it automatically enables relevant local payment methods based on the shopper’s region. For instance, a Shopify merchant in the US can easily accept Bancontact and iDEAL when selling to Belgium or the Netherlands – they simply toggle those on, no custom integration needed (help.shopify.com). Shopify Payments supports Bancontact, iDEAL, Sofort, EPS, Klarna, etc., depending on the market (help.shopify.com), meaning merchants on Shopify can localize their checkout experience at the flick of a switch. This has huge implications: it lowers the barrier for cross-market expansion since even small merchants can offer country-specific popular methods without in-depth knowledge. Additionally, Shop Pay, Shopify’s accelerated checkout, is available globally – it stores customer details for one-click payments across any Shopify store. Shop Pay itself isn’t a separate payment method funded by a bank or card, but it streamlines card payments and now even installments (Shop Pay Installments by Affirm in some countries). Its presence (noted in our data across countries, e.g. ~6–13k sites in each country had “Shop Pay” enabled) underscores the impact of platform features. Shop Pay improves conversion and thus indirectly encourages merchants to sell globally, knowing returning customers can pay faster. In essence, platform-native solutions like Shopify Payments abstract away complexity: a single integration gives a merchant Apple Pay, Google Pay, local methods and credit cards in one – very powerful for cross-border commerce.
WooCommerce & PayPal/Stripe integrations
WooCommerce (the popular WordPress e-commerce plugin) relies on third-party payment gateways. PayPal and Stripe are two that have become nearly universal on WooCommerce sites globally. Because they are easy to install and free to use (no monthly fee, just transaction fees), many WooCommerce-based shops simply offer PayPal and Stripe out-of-the-box. This means an English WooCommerce site, a German one, or a Danish one – all likely have a similar PayPal checkout option (and Stripe powering card payments). Our analysis of PayPal’s presence found that a significant percentage of Shopify and WooCommerce stores across these countries have PayPal enabled – often 50% or more (e.g. ~72% in Italy, ~47% in Sweden, ~40% in Finland, ~62% in Belgium) based on the data of PayPal usage on those platform stores. This prevalence is no accident: PayPal comes built-in with Shopify and as a default plugin with WooCommerce, so many merchants leave it on as a convenient global method. The result is a kind of cross-market ubiquity – no matter if you’re shopping on a boutique in Oslo or a gadget store in Milan, you’re likely to see the PayPal button. That consistency gives consumers a familiar fallback and gives merchants confidence they can serve international customers (who might prefer PayPal if they’re unfamiliar with the local method on that site). Stripe’s integration on WooCommerce similarly allows merchants worldwide to accept not just cards but Apple Pay, Google Pay, and even local methods (if configured) like iDEAL or Klarna through Stripe. So, platform ecosystems have made a set of payment methods effectively universal across markets.
Cross-Border Influence of Key Players
Certain providers emerge as bridges across countries. PayPal is the obvious one – present virtually everywhere, it’s the default cross-border wallet. Stripe/Adyen as PSPs power many local methods but are invisible to consumers; their influence is in enabling merchants to support the right mix in each market. Klarna has grown from a Swedish BNPL to a global brand now active in all the discussed countries – a German shopper, a Norwegian, an Italian can all use Klarna, making it a cross-border payment option in its own right. Apple Pay and Google Pay – while not top of any country’s list except perhaps on tech-centric sites – provide a unified experience for a segment of users across borders (a tech-savvy Swiss or Italian might choose Apple Pay in lieu of typing card details, for example). Mollie and Nets/Nexi (regional PSPs) are extending beyond their home (Mollie from NL into Belgium, France, etc., Nets from Nordics into DACH), contributing to cross-pollination of methods.
In summary, platform-native integrations and globally-oriented providers smooth out the differences between markets. They ensure that a merchant doesn’t have to integrate Bancontact, iDEAL, Klarna, Swish separately with different contracts – instead, one integration (be it Shopify Payments, PayPal, Stripe, etc.) covers it. This has led to a situation where key payment methods achieve strong cross-border presence despite being local in nature: for example, Bancontact can be accepted by a German Shopify store selling to Belgium, and iDEAL appears on UK websites via PayPal’s Braintree or Adyen. Likewise, a Dutch merchant can easily offer Klarna to German customers through a single PSP. The significance is huge for market entry and expansion: a merchant can enter a new European market and immediately offer the familiar local payment options through their existing platform, rather than needing to sign deals with local banks. This greatly lowers friction in European e-commerce, effectively enabling the regional patterns we’ve discussed to coexist with global e-commerce flows.
Analysing these seven countries side by side reveals clear regional patterns and instructive differences:
Local dominance vs global universals
Each country has one or two dominant local payment methods – Bancontact in Belgium, Twint in Switzerland, MobilePay in Denmark, Paytrail (bank transfers) in Finland, PayPal (local favourite) in Italy, Vipps (and cards) in Norway, Klarna/Swish in Sweden. These methods stem from local banking systems or consumer habits and command loyalty in their home markets. At the same time, global methods like credit cards and PayPal are present “just about everywhere” (retaildetail.eu) as the common denominators. Cards are accepted in all countries (even if not always first choice), and PayPal’s familiar checkout is offered broadly to capture cross-border shoppers. This duality means successful merchants typically combine the local must-haves with a baseline of global options.
North vs south vs central
There’s a north-south divide of sorts. The Nordics (Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland) are heavy on mobile wallets and pay-later solutions: MobilePay/Vipps/Swish and Klarna/Svea are household names there, reflecting a tech-forward consumer base and trust in digital finance. Central-West Europe (Belgium, Netherlands, Switzerland) leans on bank-based payments: Bancontact, iDEAL, Twint, Sofort – these are all bank-account-direct methods, indicating the strength of bank networks and a preference for direct debit-style payments. Southern Europe (Italy) has been more cautious historically, thus PayPal (a “foreign” but trust-building method) and cash/prepaid solutions took hold. Understanding these cultural and historical contexts is key – one size does not fit all in Europe. A Nordics-focused merchant will prioritise mobile wallets and Klarna, whereas a Benelux-focused one must integrate local bank payments or risk losing most customers.
Cross-border influencers – key players
Some payment providers have clearly managed to extend their influence across multiple countries: Klarna (originating in Sweden) is now a major player in Norway, Finland, the Netherlands, Belgium, etc., showing that a popular concept can travel – especially BNPL in regions with similar consumer credit cultures. PayPal remains a pan-European staple for cross-border commerce – even where it’s not #1 locally, it’s the safety net for transactions that cross languages or currencies. Stripe and Adyen (though behind the scenes) power a lot of this by enabling local method acceptance to non-local merchants – they are the unsung heroes making, for example, a French website feel native to a Dutch customer by offering iDEAL. Mollie has grown beyond the Netherlands into Belgium and even across Europe, thanks to its easy integration – it’s becoming a regional champion for SME payments. Meanwhile, regional collaborations (like the Vipps-MobilePay merger and its partnership with Swish) hint at the future: key local methods might interoperate across borders, effectively becoming multi-country methods. If that succeeds, a Nordic wallet could rival card schemes in cross-border utility within that region.
Platform power – shaping market entry
The prevalence of Shopify, WooCommerce, Magento, and other platforms in online retail has greatly shaped how payments are adopted. These platforms have baked-in support for the dominant providers, which means merchants expanding to a new country often have the tools at their fingertips to accept the local payments. For example, a Canadian brand using Shopify entering the Dutch market can enable iDEAL and Bancontact via Shopify Payments in minutes – something that would have been a project on its own a decade ago. This reduces the friction of market expansion; payment localization is no longer a barrier reserved for enterprise retailers with local contracts, but available to SMBs. It also means that certain payment methods achieve widespread adoption simply by being defaults on platforms – PayPal’s presence on WooCommerce is a clear case. In effect, the e-commerce platforms act as conduits for spreading payment innovations across borders. If tomorrow a new payment method becomes huge in one country, chances are platform providers or PSPs will integrate it and thereby propagate it across thousands of merchants in multiple countries (much like Apple Pay rolled out or Klarna became a checkout option globally).
Consumer behaviour and trust
Underpinning all of this, local consumer behaviour and trust patterns dictate what gets used. In Belgium and Netherlands, trust in one’s bank and domestic systems is high – hence bank-based methods flourish. In Italy, wariness about fraud led to a trust in PayPal and cash – only now gradually shifting toward more modern solutions as trust improves. Nordics have high trust both in technology and in credit, enabling things like Swish and Klarna to thrive. These patterns highlight that any payment provider trying to enter a new European market must contend with deeply ingrained habits. Often, partnering or integrating with existing local systems (as Mastercard did by co-badging Bancontact, or as Klarna did by offering localised invoice terms) is more successful than trying to impose a wholly new behaviour.
To conclude, European e-commerce payments are a mix of local traditions and global tech. Merchants aiming for success across these markets need to literally “speak the language” of payments in each country – be it offering installment invoices in Sweden, MobilePay in Denmark, or Bancontact in Belgium – while also providing cross-border staples like cards and PayPal to ensure no customer is left out. The good news is that modern payment platforms and providers have made this mapping far easier. The direction is clear: meet customers’ local expectations at checkout, and they will buy confidently, whether they’re next door or across the continent. By recognizing the strengths and focus of each payment provider (from Twint’s local sovereignty in Switzerland to PayPal’s cross-border indispensability), businesses can craft a payment strategy that feels native in every market they serve, B2C and B2B alike. This localized approach, backed by data and smart integrations, is increasingly what defines competitive advantage in Europe’s vibrant online payments landscape.
Last‑mile delivery shapes the online shopping experience, influencing conversion rates, repeat purchases and brand perception.
At Tembi, we analysed over 600,000 webshops to understand two aspects of last‑mile competition in 17 European markets, the market share of the top delivery provider and the number of distinct delivery partners each webshop integrates, and how these factors drive innovation and strategy.
Rather than estimating parcel volumes, we examined the presence of delivery providers in webshop back‑ends. Every integration represents a commitment by the webshop to offer that carrier at checkout. By counting integrations, we capture:
• Breadth of choice available to consumers
• Carrier prominence within each market
For each country - from Belgium to Slovakia - we identified the top three providers by share of webshop integrations and counted the total number of providers in active use. We excluded providers that have less than 1% market presence.
These figures show that while national postal services still lead in many markets, no single carrier dominates everywhere, and the number of options ranges from three providers in Iceland to more than twenty in the Netherlands.
We classify markets by the checkout presence held by the leading provider:
Adding the count of distinct delivery partners shows where compeition is the hightst:
Most fragmented markets, such as the Netherlands, Romania and Sweden, offer webshops a broad selection of carriers to tailor delivery options by region, price‑point and service level. In the Netherlands, for instance, there are over twenty distinct last‑mile providers active across the market. By contrast, in Iceland and Bulgaria webshops have fewer providers to choose from, simplifying management but concentrating risk, and less consumer choice. Finland sits between these extremes, with around fourteen partners in use yet Posti being present in 62% of all webshop checkouts.
Geography plays a crucial role in shaping last‑mile dynamics. In countries with vast rural areas and archipelagos - most notably Finland and Sweden - webshops need delivery partners that can reliably serve both remote villages and dense urban centres. National posts excel at this: Posti’s 62 percent presence in Finland and PostNord’s 33 percent in Sweden reflect their ability to cover every corner of the country, from Lapland to the Helsinki suburbs, or from the Stockholm archipelago to the far north. This extensive network cements their leadership and makes it challenging for smaller couriers to compete on a truly national scale.
At the same time, urban populations in these markets demand faster and more flexible options. That’s why even highly consolidated markets like Finland still see around fourteen delivery partners in use, and Sweden nearly eighteen. Specialist providers focus on city‑centre same‑day deliveries, parcel locker networks and niche eco‑services, carving out space alongside the national postal incumbent.
By contrast, in highly fragmented markets such as the Netherlands, Italy and Romania, geography is less of a barrier - population density is higher and distances shorter - so webshops routinely offer 18 to 22 different providers to meet varied consumer preferences. National posts such as PostNL and Poste Italiane must innovate continually, rolling out premium services like carbon‑neutral shipping, click‑and‑collect lockers and advanced tracking, and partnering with crowd‑shipping or on‑demand couriers to fill gaps.
In moderately consolidated markets - Denmark, Belgium, Switzerland and the Baltics - the mix reflects mid‑range geography and market size. National posts share the stage with regional specialists (such as GLS and DPD), driving innovation in service differentiation, tech integration and sustainability (electric fleets, bike couriers, offset programmes).
Finally, in smaller or more remote markets like Iceland and Bulgaria, webshops often layer core postal services with a handful (three to five) of local same‑day or on‑demand couriers to ensure coverage. Even here, national posts are expanding parcel‑locker footprints and app‑based tracking to meet rising consumer expectations - while keeping a watchful eye towards rapidly growing new digital-first ventures.
Understanding these overlapping factors - market consolidation, provider fragmentation and geographic realities - allows e‑commerce leaders to tailor last‑mile strategies. In widespread, low‑density regions, deep partnerships with national posts ensure full coverage; in dense, competitive markets, robust multi‑carrier technology and innovative niche services deliver the flexibility consumers expect.
Stay tuned for more insights and sign-up to our monthly newsletter.
or e-commerce consumers, delivery costs often represent the final hurdle before completing a purchase. Set too high, delivery fees can drive potential buyers away; priced competitively, they can boost conversions and foster customer loyalty. At Tembi, we closely track these shifts, monitoring what webshops across Europe charge consumers for different delivery methods.
We analysed webshop delivery pricing data across nine markets from October 2024 to March 2025, examining variations across three key delivery methods: parcel box, parcel shop, and home delivery.
Over 300.000 webshops are part of this analysis and we've removed the outliers when calculatin average deliver prices (free delivery and delivery of large and/or heavy objects).
%403x.jpg)
Parcel boxes have become a popular choice due to convenience and lower operational costs. However, pricing varied significantly:
Parcel shops offer flexibility for consumers who prefer to pick up orders at convenient locations:
Home delivery remains the premium service and is generally priced highest:
These shifts in delivery prices reveal strategic decisions by webshops rather than direct changes in logistics provider pricing. Webshops balance several factors:
For commercial leaders in e-commerce, understanding these pricing strategies is critical. Lower delivery prices may indicate aggressive market positioning or efficiency gains, while increases might signal tighter operational conditions or reduced competition.
Webshop delivery pricing is a powerful indicator of market conditions and consumer expectations. Regular monitoring of these shifts is essential to stay competitive and agile - regardless if you're a retailer selling directrly or inderictly, or operate a last-mile delivery provider.
hen we talk about e-commerce opportunity, the conversation often starts, and ends, with the size of a market. How many webshops are there? Which countries have the highest absolute numbers?
At Tembi, we believe that raw totals only tell part of the story. To really understand where e-commerce is thriving, and where it’s just starting to take hold, you need to look at density, digital integration, and market readiness.
We recently analysed data across 20+ European countries, looking not only at total webshop numbers but how they compare to population size and national business ecosystems.
Some of the results are surprising:
Knowing how many webshops exist per capita or per company tells us more than just the size of the e-commerce sector. It signals how deeply online sales are embedded into the economy.
For commercial teams, this is essential context. Are you entering a market where most companies already sell online? Or one where there’s room to help businesses go digital? Are you facing established competitors, or discovering a still-fragmented field?
This kind of intelligence can shape your go-to-market plan, sales motions, and even your product localisation strategy.
In short: don’t just look at the number of webshops. Look at who they serve, how they scale, and how densely they operate within the economy. Because the future of e-commerce isn’t just about growth -it’s about depth, integration, and staying power.
hen evaluating market opportunities, many look at total size. But total size doesn’t tell you where momentum is building. New webshop creation - and survival - is often a better indicator.
Despite being considered mature digital markets, across Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Norway, and Iceland, 9,200 new webshops were launched in 2024 that are still active today. That’s not total launches, that’s survivors - which gives a better sense of which markets are currently supporting new players.
This challenges conventional wisdom about market saturation and highlights untapped opportunities in the region.
Sweden leads with the strongest growth, showing a 42% increase in the number of newly launched webshops that remain active compared to the previous year. Close behind is Denmark, with a 39% year-on-year growth. These figures suggest that both markets are currently fertile ground for e-commerce newcomers, despite heightened competition and shifting consumer behaviour.
Finland and Iceland also recorded positive, albeit more modest, developments. Finland saw a 14% increase in surviving new webshops, while Iceland posted 13% growth. These numbers may not be as dramatic as Denmark or Sweden, but they still point to a healthy pace of new market entrants that are finding ways to stay afloat.
Norway, by contrast , is the only market that moved in the opposite direction. Here, the number of newly launched webshops that remained active declined by 2% compared to the previous year. While not a steep drop, it stands out in a region otherwise trending upwards. This downturn was primarily concentrated in one category - Beauty & personal care - which appears to have experienced a wave of closures (more details on this in our previous blog post available here).
The contrast between countries suggests that, even within a shared economic region, local market dynamics and category-specific pressures can lead to different outcomes.
At first glance, it may seem contradictory: high closure rates alongside a surge in new webshop launches. Between August 2024 and February 2025, over 3,300 Danish webshops ceased activity. That’s 11% of the total market, gone in just six months. This might suggest a market in retreat struggling with saturation. But the full picture tells a different story.
In the very same period, 2,645 new webshops were successfully launched and remained operational. These aren’t just test stores or dormant domains. These are active webshops that made it past the initial setup phase and into actual trade.
One of the more common assumptions about Nordic e-commerce is that the market is saturated. With strong category leaders and high consumer expectations, it can appear that there is little room left for new entrants. However, the consistent entries of still active webshops launched in 2024 challenges that thinking.
These are not just short-lived experiments or weekend projects. They are businesses that have managed to find customers, generate sales, and carve out a place in the market.
In addition, sustainability is playing an increasingly influential role in shaping consumer choices. According to PostNord’s 2024 report, 8 out of 10 Nordic shoppers consider sustainability when making purchases. This creates space for newcomers with strong brand values, circular business models, or second-hand offerings, which are becoming more popular particularly in fashion.
This also presents strategic opportunities for established brands. The new entrants create a pipeline of potential partners, collaborators or acquisition targets. For incumbents, this is a chance to stay ahead of the curve by aligning early with brands that may become the next category leaders.
For entrepreneurs, the lesson is that everything is still very much possible. While competition is strong, the path to growth remains open to those with a clear proposition answering real customer needs. Differentiation, specialization, and a willingness to build something that doesn’t look like everything else on the market will again prove to be key advantages.
Rather than signaling saturation the current trends reflect a dynamic market. New players continue to reshape what is possible, and the space for innovation remains open.
At Tembi, we track over 600,000 webshops across Europe, updating our database bi-weekly to gather historical data and monitor the development of each webshop.
