One in three Swedes avoids calling companies – “too stressful”

New survey: 65 percent of Swedish consumers prefer digital self-service over customer service by phone – but few companies ask how customers actually want to be contacted

Calling customer service has become something many Swedes actively avoid. 35 percent of Swedish consumers say they sometimes or always avoid phone and in-person contact with companies because they expect it to be too stressful. This is shown by new Swedish data from the 2026 Customer Experience Benchmark survey, conducted by Toluna on behalf of Smart Communications™, a leading provider of customer engagement technology in regulated industries.

The figures point to a clear shift in how Swedes want to interact with banks, insurance companies, healthcare providers and authorities. 65 percent say they prefer digital self-service – asking a question, making a change or submitting a request digitally – rather than calling customer service. Email is by far the most preferred channel for communication, even when it contains personal data (45 percent), followed by a web portal or app (20 percent). Only 14 percent prefer mail.

At the same time, companies are lacking in basic work: four out of ten Swedes state that they are rarely or never asked how they want to be contacted.

For companies in regulated industries – where a call is often about an insurance matter, a healthcare decision or a government decision – the consequences are tangible. Customers who hesitate to call and are not offered functional digital alternatives risk postponing important matters, or leaving altogether.

“We have long talked about phone queues as a cost issue for companies. This data shows that it is just as much a customer issue – a large group of Swedes simply do not feel comfortable calling. Companies that force them into phone loops lose them, while those that expand self-service and ask customers how they want to be contacted have a lot to gain,”, says Christer Eriksson, area manager for Sweden at Smart Communications.

Survey method

The survey was conducted by Toluna on behalf of Smart Communications in June 2026 and collected responses from 4,000 consumers aged 18–55+ in the US, UK, Europe (including 200 from Sweden) and APAC, across the financial services, insurance, healthcare and public sector sectors.

About Smart Communications

Smart Communications is a global provider of customer engagement technology for regulated industries. The company's platform combines customer communications, digital data collection, AI and customer journey orchestration, among other things. More than 700 companies worldwide use Smart Communications, handling over 60 billion business-critical customer interactions each year.