Only 3 of the 10 largest online shops in Norway are Norwegianeide
Okay, so the three largest are foreign. But what does the rest of the top list look like?
Among the ten largest online shops in Norway in 2025, only three of them are Norwegian: Binderakker.no, Completet.no and Get Inspirad still hold. However, it means that 70 % of top players are controlled from abroad.
Why does this matter?
When Nordics shop at them, both margins and growth potential are located outside Norway's borders. This weakens Norwegian ownership, tax entry and innovation in a rapidly growing and globalising market.
Have we left the online trade to geopolitics?
Temu sells goods below market prices, heavily supported by Chinese authorities. Amazon builds global logistics systems and platform dominance. These aren't randoms. What we see can be interpreted as a digital trade war where Norway stands without a strategy.
What can you do about it? The EU has already introduced regulations and VAT from the first crown.
Norway? We'll keep the door open.
The result is that international players are free to take over Norwegian consumers without contributing back. We see the effect of this now.
Why Norwegian value creation matters
When value creation takes place in Norway, we build more than just income. We develop skills, jobs, export opportunities and tax revenues. We're building for the future.
If we leave online commerce abroad, we lose control over how technology, marketing and data are used in our own market.
Then we weaken our ability to shape sustainable, fair and profitable business models in the future.
More than 120 billion dollars disappear every year
Money isn't everything. But let's look at what that money is. could have been created.
Northernmen traded for $246 billion online in 2024. Over half of this went to non-resident companies.
That means that over SEK 120 billion in purchasing power did not create one Norwegian workplace!
In comparison, this could have financed:
- 160000 children's children's homes
- 20,000 nursing homes
- The entire annual budget of the Norwegian Defence
- A national effort on quantum physics, KI, green fueling by oil, etc.
120 billion is an estimate, but given the evolution of Temu, I think it's a conservative estimate.
What does Norway do today - does it work?
Norway has been investing in green industries such as wind and battery plants in recent years. The ambitions are high, but implementation is demanding.
Many of the projects are experiencing strong resistance from communities and environmental organisations in the sea. A government expert committee has recommended to pause the entire effort, due to high risk and low profitability. Moreover, some of the actors are non-resident and thus out of Norwegian control.
Within the battery industry, companies like Morrow and Freyr have received billions of support from the state. But several projects are running out of pace, and Freyr has in practice chosen to bet in the United States, where the market and subsidies are more favourable.
Ironically, parts of Norway's green industry are at both the expense of the environment and the economy. At the same time, we may forget the most invisible environmental threat: the cheap, quick and redundant online trade. Products are transported from Asia with aircraft, packed in plastic, with short life and no return system. It's consumption without responsibility, and we've done it ungrateful.
Norway's competitive advantage exists - but we need to use it
Norway actually has something in the world to demand: clean energy, traceable raw materials and high trust. We have a solid economy that we can use to invest in the future. We also have solid examples of successful export opportunities other than oil, electricity, salmon and metals:
- Norwegian salmon - a global brand based on technology, nature and quality
- Norwegian wool and wood - raw materials with identity and environmental profile,
- Small scale producers and special goods - everything from gourmet to technology components
These are just examples. But we lack one thing: the ability to translate a lot of this into our own global online trading models. How can we get to this?
What can Norway learn from China?
“When I go with two people, I can learn something from at least one of them”
Confucius (551-479 B.C.E.)
Why don't you listen to Chinese Confucius, and learn from him a little bit?
China is experts in copying and mass production successful concepts. They have a plan. They invest in knowledge, export and market shares.
China has shown that trade, education and industry need to be strategically linked. They build linked companies, infrastructure and export aid. We have to do the same thing with our valuesSo let's say that this is the same thing as that.
It means linking education and technology development with online commerce, building export companies with a KI and a basic insight, and supporting companies that will grow, not just developing.
China has over 40 million university students and about 500 000 PhD candidates per year. They build the future with investment, knowledge and trade.
This is not random. They're taking advantage of the fact that they already produce most of what we buy, now they're going to sell it directly. It's smart, and it increases value creation while it gives them more data so that they can learn even more in the future.
China has not left the development of its trading platforms to chance. Through targeted state subsidies, export aid, infrastructure development and a long-term strategy, the country has built up global technology giants such as Temu, Alibaba and JD.com.
These are not just commercial successes. It's part of a larger geopolitical and economic plan. Norway can learn from how China links education, industry, research and trade in one system.
Norway should do something similar. Connect higher education with export-oriented technology companies, provide long-term and conditional support to companies that prove growth, and think strategically about what industries we want to own in the future. Not only who we want to support today.
What do Norwegian companies have to do?
In order to claim internationally in today's competitive online trade market, Norwegian companies need to focus heavily on knowledge and competence.
It means using digital tools such as artificial intelligence, data-driven insight, search engine optimization, CRM systems and efficient marketing. The ability to understand and exploit these technologies will determine who succeeds and who remains at the train station.
At the same time, selling good products does not keep. Norwegian establishments must build strong branded goods and relationships with customers. Loyalty, trust and clear value communication must be the core of the strategy, not just price.
Where Temu attracts discounts, Norwegian players can win quality, service and sustainable values.
In addition, the plan must be exported from the outset. In a globalised world, there is no reason to wait until one is ready for international markets.
Norwegian products and services often have an inherent quality stamp that gives competitive advantage, including abroad. We forget this. Exports should be part of the business model from day one.
And we're lucky to have to not re-invent the wheel. We can learn from how actors like Temu and Amazon use technology, logistics and consumer data to grow. We just have to make sure we do it our way.
With Norwegian values such as the basis of transparency, environmental considerations and social responsibility, we can develop online shops that not only succeed financially but also strengthen Norwegian business, community and environment.
What does the state have to do?
Norwegian enterprises need better conditions and incentives. The state has a job to do.
Norwegian companies need better conditions to grow. Many entrepreneurs now find it more difficult to run a business in Norway. Start-up holdings successfully punished by high tax pressure. The aid schemes are fragmented, complex and often targeted at development rather than scaling or exporting.
Norwegian enterprises need capital to grow. The availability of risk capital in Norway is low compared with other countries. The Norwegian instrument remains largely targeted at product development rather than commercialisation and growth.
This slows down companies that could actually contribute strongly to national value creation.
But there's something positive too: we've done this before:
Norway chose to invest in developing its own oil industry. Norway chose to invest in developing Norwegian salmon as a brand. The result was very successful, and this proves that it is possible to get back!
Exports should be lifted as a priority. Only when Norwegian products are sold internationally in greater volume are we really building revenue, reputation and a robust business. Today, marketing and international positioning are being given little support, and many companies are alone in meeting global competitors.
Here, political Norway needs to think new and offer systematic, practical and long-term support for export-oriented digital industries in line with what is done in countries we compete with.
At the same time, Norway should dry up its own value creation where necessary. The United States under Trump is criticised for tariffs. However, the fact is that such measures are often used to shield and strengthen strategically important industries.
Norway already has customs duties on food to protect agriculture. Maybe we should think about it for digital commerce. When whole industries are threatened by subsidised foreign actors, self-defence is not extreme. It's just long-term economic wisdom.
Do we want to trade or be traded with?
Norwegian online commerce and digital value creation are under pressure. We risk becoming a strong market without own platforms - and an exporting country without export companies.
We still have the opportunity to do something about it. But then we, governments and businesses have to start now.