The relatively unknown phenomena of the digital world of Norway

 Much of this digital marketing class has focused on digital marketing in two countries: the US and the UK. As a British Citizen it is interesting that there have been so many British examples of digital advertising. I was kind of intrigued by this and wanted to understand the differences between different countries digital marketing spend.  In doing so I came across this article: http://thinkmarketingmagazine.com/index.php/top-ten-countries-digital-ads-spenders/

The research in this article shows that Norway spends more on digital advertising per internet user in that country than anywhere else in the world at $209 per internet user with the US falling second at $201 per internet user and the UK 7^th at a spend of $118 per internet user.

With the vast majority of digital marketing being focused on e-commerce (i.e. something which the internet user can buy online) it is interesting to understand the correlation between digital marketing and e-commerce.

“In 2012, 45 % of individuals in the EU-27 reported that they had made online purchases (within the 12 months prior to the survey date); this figure had grown from 30 % in 2007 and from 40 % in 2010.”http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/statistics_explained/index.php/Information_society_statistics_at_regional_level

In the US this number in 2011 was higher: “Some 70% of all Internet users in the U.S. made at least one purchase during the second quarter.” http://allthingsd.com/20110808/more-online-shoppers-drove-a-spike-in-e-commerce-spending-last-quarter/

This might explain why the US has such a high digital marketing spend per internet user but what is more interesting is to understand the anomaly of Norway and its internet use. 97.2% of Norwegians have good internet use, making it the second highest internet penetration in the world. It is a wealthy country (4^th highest GDP per capita) but its consumer goods are marked higher than other countries meaning many people choose to shop on-line to find good deals elsewhere. It is also interesting to note that Norwegians spend 45% more than their Swedish neighbours and so it is not just a result of long cold dark winters that draw Norwegians to spend their time on-line. Browsing the internet on this subject it is not surprisingly when you know these facts to see the number of articles and blogs discussing this phenomenon. As Norway is a relatively small country with approx. just over 5 million inhabitants, and it is not in the EU, it makes it a harder choice for companies to enter the market. On the one hand it is a highly attractive and developed market yet it is small in size. But what companies could learn from advertising and selling in Norway could be extremely beneficial in other markets.