Starting an online store takes six things: something to sell, a platform, a payment solution, a shipping solution, VAT and rules in order, and a plan for how people will find you. The last one is what decides whether the store pays its way, and it's the one most people spend the least time on.
The technology is the easy part these days. You can have a working store up in a weekend. Getting the first order from someone who isn't your mum is a completely different project.
Before you build anything: work out the margin
Do this calculation first. It decides whether the business works at all.
Take a price you think you can charge. Subtract:
- Purchase price or manufacturing cost
- Shipping to the customer (even when you call it free shipping, someone pays)
- Transaction fee, 1.5–3% of the order value
- Packaging
- Returns: expect 5–15% depending on the category, far more in clothing
- The cost of acquiring the customer
The last item is the one that brings most people down. If someone clicks through on an ad for SEK 10 and one in ten visitors buys, that customer has cost SEK 100. If your gross margin is SEK 80 per order, you lose money on every unit sold, no matter how good the store looks.
Low order values require either very cheap traffic or repeat purchases. That is why subscriptions and refill products work so well online.
Choose a platform
Shopify
A ready-made solution where everything fits together from the start. Quickest to get going, least maintenance, large selection of apps.
Costs from around SEK 300 per month plus transaction fees. If you don't use Shopify Payments, there is an extra fee per order. You rent the platform: if you move away, you take your products and customers with you, but not the store.
Suits most people starting out, especially if you would rather spend your time on products and marketing than on technology.
WooCommerce
A plugin for WordPress. You own everything, can build exactly what you want and pay no monthly fee to the platform.
The cost is maintenance, and you are responsible for security, updates and performance yourself. A WooCommerce store that grows needs more attention to speed than most people expect.
Suits you if you already have WordPress, want to own the platform and have someone to handle the technical side.
Swedish alternatives
Quickbutik, Starweb and Jetshop are built for Swedish conditions, with Klarna, Swish, PostNord and Swedish bookkeeping already connected. Less flexible, but far fewer things to connect yourself.
Custom-built
A modern framework with a separate checkout solution gives maximum control and speed. It requires developers and is rarely justified until volumes are significant.
Payments
Swedish customers expect certain options, and if they are missing, the purchase is abandoned.
- Klarna: invoice and instalments. In practice a must in Sweden.
- Swish (Sweden's mobile payment app): especially for smaller amounts and mobile purchases.
- Card: Visa and Mastercard.
- Invoice: if you sell to businesses.
Expect a transaction fee of 1.5–3%. The checkout is also where most people drop off: don't require account registration to buy, show the shipping cost early, and keep the number of steps down.
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Shipping
Shipping terms affect conversion more than almost anything else.
- Free shipping above a set amount often raises the average order value
- Show the shipping cost early: unexpected fees at the last step are the most common reason for abandoned purchases
- Offer pickup points and home delivery when you can
- Send a tracking link automatically: it noticeably reduces the number of support requests
Rules and VAT
This has to be right from the start.
VAT (moms in Swedish) is normally 25% on goods, 12% on food and 6% on books. Prices to consumers must be shown including VAT.
The Distance Contracts Act (distansavtalslagen) gives consumers a 14-day right of withdrawal, counted from when the goods are received. You must inform them about the right of withdrawal before the purchase; if you don't, the withdrawal period is extended.
The Price Information Act (prisinformationslagen) requires clear price information. For discounts, you must state the lowest price that applied in the last 30 days.
GDPR requires you to explain how personal data is handled, and cookies beyond the necessary ones require consent.
Terms of sale must be available: delivery time, returns, complaints, and contact details with your company registration number.
If you sell to other EU countries, rules about VAT in the buyer's country apply above certain thresholds. Get help from an accountant before that becomes relevant, not after.
What it costs
Getting started:
- Simple store on a ready-made platform: SEK 5,000–20,000 plus your time
- Agency-built store: SEK 60,000–150,000
- Custom-built solution: SEK 150,000 and up
Running costs per month:
- Platform fee: SEK 300–3,000
- Transaction fees: 1.5–3% of turnover
- Marketing: the biggest item, often 10–30% of turnover
How customers will find you
This is where the real work is, and it never ends.
Product pages must be searchable. Your own product descriptions, not the manufacturer's: identical text to a hundred other stores doesn't rank. Your own photos. Structured data for products so that price and stock status can be shown directly in the search results.
Category pages are your most important pages. People search for "black winter boots women", not for item numbers. The category page is the one that can rank for that kind of search.
Google Shopping often gives better profitability than regular search ads for e-commerce, because the customer sees the product and price before clicking.
Newsletter. The only channel you own. Collect addresses from day one.
Content that answers questions before the purchase: size guides, comparisons, care advice. It draws people in earlier in the process, while they are still choosing.
Read more about finding the right keywords in our guide to keyword research, and about getting more visitors to buy in the guide to conversion rate optimisation.
Start small
The most common expensive mistake is building a store with a hundred products, advanced filtering and three languages before a single order has come in.
Start with a few products, a working checkout and a clear plan for the first hundred visitors. Build out what turns out to be needed. The market gives you answers faster than any feasibility study.
If you are thinking about building an online store, get in touch and we will go through what your case requires. Also see how we work with custom web development.
Frequently asked questions
How much does it cost to start an online store?
A simple store on a ready-made platform costs SEK 5,000–20,000 to get started, plus your own time. An agency-built store costs SEK 60,000–150,000. On top of that come running costs: a platform fee of SEK 300–3,000 per month and transaction fees of 1.5–3 per cent of turnover.
Which e-commerce platform is best?
Shopify suits most people starting out: quickest to get going and the least maintenance. WooCommerce suits you if you already have WordPress and want to own the platform. Swedish alternatives such as Quickbutik and Starweb have Klarna, Swish and Swedish bookkeeping already connected.
Which payment methods do I need in Sweden?
Klarna, with invoice and instalments, is in practice a must in the Swedish market. Add card payments and Swish (Sweden's mobile payment app), especially for smaller amounts. If you sell to businesses, you should also offer invoicing.
Which rules apply to e-commerce in Sweden?
Consumers have a 14-day right of withdrawal under the Distance Contracts Act, and you must inform them about it before the purchase. Prices must be shown including VAT under the Price Information Act, and for discounts the lowest price in the last 30 days must be stated. GDPR also applies to personal data and cookies.
Sources
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