Danish overseas consumer habits hurting economy

6.7 billion kroner spent abroad since 2011

Oct 20, 2014

Over the past three years, Danish purchases abroad using payment cards have increased by 40 percent, while it has only increased by 14 percent nationally.

For every 100 kroner spent using payment cards, 11 kroner ends up abroad, according to figures from the Danish central bank Nationalbanken.

“There is such a considerable change in the purchasing habits of the Danes that it is affecting the Danish economy,” Tore Stramer, an analyst from Nykredit Bank, told Politiken newspaper.

High consumer prices
According to Nykredit, if the entire payment increase abroad had instead taken place in Denmark, it would have increased private consumption nationally by 6.7 billion kroner since 2011.

Stramer revealed that the development is due to increased online shopping and border trade, via which the goods are often obtained at a cheaper price than in Denmark. Every fourth purchase is from an online shop abroad.

Denmark has the highest prices in the EU concerning consumer products – 6 percent higher than the averages in Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, Finland, France and Italy.

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