Global Shopping Insights Report: Sweden 🇸🇪

Battle of the drinks: juice or water?

In Sweden, juice is significantly more popular than water, with 286% more additions to shopping lists compared to water.

Water is more frequently planned for purchase by Italians, Spaniards, and Brazilians, while juice is favored by Canadians, Danes, and Norwegians.

Which country likes Nutella the most?

Sweden ranked seventh in the share of Nutella in the sweet and savory snacks category. The highest results were recorded in France and Germany, while the lowest were in Canada, the USA, and Norway.

"shopping" or ICA? Most common shopping list names

Among the analyzed phrases in shopping list titles in Sweden, "new list" appeared most frequently, accounting for 14.21% of all shopping list names. This is not only the highest share of this phrase in Sweden but also among all the analyzed countries. Interestingly, the phrase "shopping" which often ranked first or second in other countries, had a very low share in Sweden, at just 0.52%.

The most frequently mentioned retailer in shopping list titles was ICA (3.08%), followed by Willys (2.06%). The total share of retailer names in Swedish shopping lists was 5.46%, placing Sweden seventh overall. The UK had a slightly higher result (5.49%), while France had a slightly lower one (5.11%). Sweden's result was the highest among the Scandinavian countries.

Who’s behind the shopping list?

In Sweden, 20.52% of active shopping lists from June 1, 2023, to May 31, 2024, were shared with at least one person.

This result is higher than the global average and ranks as the third highest among the analyzed countries. Only Poles and Danes achieved better results. Americans used the list-sharing feature the least.

The list-sharing rate may reflect how citizens of a given country share the responsibility of household shopping.

Hot categories

Swedish shopping lists feature a relatively low share of the fruits and vegetables category compared to other analyzed countries. With a result of 16.79%, it is 1.22 percentage points below the global average and lower than in other Scandinavian countries, such as Denmark (19.74%) and Norway (17.32%).

However, Swedish shopping lists stand out for their high share of dairy products. This category accounted for 15.40%, the highest among all the analyzed countries. In comparison, the global average for dairy products was 13.44%.

Shopper favorites

Milk, eggs and bread are the most frequently added items to shopping lists in Sweden. Swedish lists stand out for the high ranking of cream (7th place) and cucumber (5th place). Cucumber enjoys similar popularity only in Norway, Denmark (4th place), and Canada (5th place).

Who shops like a pro?

In Sweden, 75.28% of items on shopping lists were marked as purchased after being added. This result is 20 percentage points higher than the global average and the third-highest in the ranking.

The lowest rates were recorded in the United States (47.3%) and Brazil (48.51%).

Factors such as store availability and product offerings may influence the rate of items being marked as purchased.

Sweet tooth or snack attack?

Swedes choose chips significantly more often than chocolate, with a 40% preference for chips.

Similarly, chips are more popular among Danes, Norwegians, and Canadians. In contrast, chocolate appears more frequently on shopping lists in France, Poland, and Spain.

The Month That Stood Out

In December 2023, 732,403 products were added to shopping lists in Sweden, representing a 12% increase compared to January 2024.

During the analyzed period, the lowest number of products was added in November 2023, with 574,982 products, which is 27% fewer than in December 2023.

In Swedish, please!

80.87% of shopping lists created between June 1, 2023, and May 31, 2024, in Sweden were in Swedish, placing Sweden 7th out of the 12 analyzed countries. The lowest share of the primary language was recorded in the United States, where, despite about 78.3% of residents speaking only English at home (according to American Community Survey data from 2018-2022), only 46.74% of shopping lists in the Listonic app were created in English.

Poland had the highest result (96.09%), followed by Norway (89.24%).

Shopping speed champions

Swedes rank third in the list of nations that most quickly move from adding a product to their shopping list to marking it as purchased, with an average time of 73 hours (about 3 days).

Danes complete their shopping lists the fastest (58 hours), while Brazilians are the slowest (172 hours).

Various factors, such as shopping frequency and the availability of groceries, may influence these results.

The country of ultimate organizers

Swedes used the Listonic app an average of 4.16 times per week, placing them in joint 4th place with Germany among the analyzed countries. The French used the app most frequently (4.6 times/week), while Brazilians used it the least (2.67 times/week). The global average is 3.93 visits per week.

The largest group of Swedish users (29.30%) used the app once a week, while the second-largest group (27.92%) planned their shopping in the app 4 to 10 times per week.