Denmark’s largest e-commerce conference lived up to its billing on Thursday, as around 1,800 guests, 70 exhibitors, and more than 40 speakers filled Lokomotivværkstedet in Copenhagen for E-handelskonferencen 2026.
This year’s theme was “Fuld fart frem” (Full Steam Ahead), capturing an industry that has emerged from a couple of turbulent years of consolidation, professionalization, and cost-cutting, and is now shifting its aim toward growth and export markets with renewed confidence.
The conference is truly the meeting place for e-commerce professionals in Denmark and organized by Dansk Erhverv. The big halls are filled both with multiple stages, where both practical insights, inspiration and new technology was profiled, as well many both exhibitors from all over the world showcasing the latest solutions to make e-commerce easier.
From the main stage programme, two keynote sessions stood out:
Digital Sovereignty: Do We Really Have a Choice, and How Big Is the Risk?
The debate on Europe’s digital sovereignty, between former European Commission Vice President Margrethe Vestager, Dansk Erhverv Deputy Director Jakob Ellemann-Jensen, and tech profile DHH (David Heinemeier Hansson, creator of Ruby on Rails and 37signals co-founder), was the day’s big political conversation. Danish companies are deeply dependent on American technology, and cloud, AI, software, and digital platforms have become part of the critical infrastructure of both businesses and society. The panel dug into the core questions: should Europe build its own alternatives, make itself less dependent on American Big Tech, or find a better balance in the dependency relationship? And what can companies concretely do to understand their dependencies, make choices on an informed basis, and secure greater freedom of action? With Vestager’s regulatory experience and Heinemeier Hansson’s long-standing stance against Big Tech dependence, the session provided one of the sharpest discussions of the day.
DILLING: The Courage for Digital Transformation in a 100-Year-Old Manufacturing Company
The second highlight came from a very different corner. Morten Dilling, CEO of DILLING and fourth generation of the family-owned company that has produced clothing in natural materials since 1916, shared the story of how a century-old manufacturer transformed step by step into an international e-commerce business. The journey has made DILLING a three-time winner at the E-handelsprisen awards, including the Gold Prize for the best-performing company across all categories, all while keeping production in Denmark. Dilling’s principles stayed with the audience long after the session ended: nothing beats the product, the next customer is the most important one, and sometimes you need both ice in your stomach and fire in your eyes to dare make decisions and hold the course. His point that virtues and data go hand in hand offered a grounded counterweight to the day’s louder hype.
Between the six stages, the halls buzzed with the network and professional sparring the conference is known for. If the mood in Lokomotivværkstedet is anything to go by, the Danish e-commerce industry is indeed running at full speed.
