We’ve had a look at the E-barometer from PostNord for the Swedish e-commerce market and Insights from Afterpay that covers the Norwegian, Dutch and German markets.

Both reports point at a clear trend – the overwhelming growth in e-commerce can to large extent be related to customers in the age groups of 50 years and older. This may not come as a surprise, as these target groups come from a historically lower e-commerce usage level. At the same time, as these groups were identified as a risk group during the pandemic e-commerce offered a safe and convenient shopping solution.

But for marketers and communicators this change poses a number of questions when it comes to making priorities and selecting the right channels. Traditionally, fifty plus is not a target group B2C companies have prioritized in their marketing communication. And the question now of course is where and how you can capture and keep up the interest of these e-commerce newcomers?

An additional perspective is that many now claim that e-commerce has made a three-year leap forward in time. But has it really? Will we see a remaining change in customer behaviour or will it fall back to “normal levels” after Covid-19?

According to Afterpay’s Insight there is a clear trend showing that e-commerce grew during the first months of the Corona Pandemic to subsequently decrease during the summer months. These findings are valid for all three markets; Germany, The Netherlands and Norway. As a footnote, it is however worth mentioning that e-commerce sales generally are lower during the summer months.

The story is to be continued. Meanwhile you can find the reports for further reading here:…