“There’s money to be saved here. This is a few thousand kroner more expensive in Denmark,” Danish shopper Jørgen Jensen said of the new front door he had just purchased at the Svågertorp shopping mall outside of Malmö.

 

He and his wife, Birte Jensen, live on the Danish island of Bornholm and their Swedish shopping spree had just begun. 

 

“Now we’re headed to Ikea to do some shopping for our summer house,” Birte Jensen said. 

 

The Danish krone on the rise

 

Many Skåne merchants happily recall the Danish shopping spree of 2009 when the Danish krone was at 1.50 to the Swedish krona. That exchange rate hasn’t quite been reached yet but the Danish currency is very strong once again. At the outset of the year, 100 Danish kroner corresponded to 132 Swedish kronar. Now the figure is at 138 Swedish kronar. In other words, shopping is even cheaper for Danes who cross the bridge. 

 

And that they are doing. Peter Nilsson, the store manager of Synsam at the Emporia shopping mall in Malmö, said sunglasses and contact lenses are flying off the shelves and into Danish hands. 

 

“On the weekends and Danish holidays, we have an invasion of Danish shoppers over here,” he said. 

 

Pia Sandin is the managing director of Malmö Citysamverken, which represents some 400 stores and restaurants in the southern Swedish city. She said business is booming thanks to Danish customers.

 

“It has gradually increased over the past six months. It really took off over Easter,” she said. 

 

The Danes buy everything, from candy to home decor to well-known brands, sandals and sunglasses. According to Pia Sandin, many are also interested in getting work done at a Swedish dentist. 

 

Ystad on the southern coast of Skåne is also experiencing an influx of Danish shoppers as more and more Bornholm residents are making the trek in search of bargains, local newspaper Ystads Allehanda reported. 

 

Further north, Helsingborg is also seeing more Danish visitors ready to spend money, Helsingborg City Samverkan CEO Hanna Candell told TT. 

 

“On Maundy Thursday [skærtorsdag/skärtorsdag], which is a holiday in Denmark, there were a lot of Danes inside the shops here. When there are Danish holidays, we have special sales events and decorate our big shopping street in red and white,” Candell said. 

 

According to a 2016 study conducted by HUI Research on behalf of the Region Skåne, the “tourist financial contribution” to Skåne was estimated at approximately SEK 5.8 billion per year.