In the Nordic countries, ChatGPT is no longer at the top of the list of most downloaded apps in the App Store, nor are apps for tracking the northern lights, even though the best season for observing the impressive phenomenon has begun.
Instead, citizens are increasingly downloading apps that serve to identify and boycott products of American origin. The reason for this trend has been the constant rhetoric of US President Donald Trump about Greenland, an autonomous territory belonging to the Kingdom of Denmark.
In this way, Danish citizens have launched a form of economic resistance. According to data published by the portal 9to5Mac, the application UdenUsa, which means "Without the USA", has climbed to the first place in the App Store in Denmark in a few days. On January 9, it was ranked 441st. The application Made O'Meter has also entered the top 5 this week.
The increase in downloads has been recorded on both iOS and Android devices, and the phenomenon is not limited to Denmark, but also extends to Norway, Sweden and Iceland. The UdenUsa app aims to provide consumers with transparency on the origin of products and the opportunity to avoid US-owned brands. Users scan the product's barcode and the app shows the origin and supply chain.
If the product is related to the US, a domestic alternative is suggested. Despite the initiative, experts estimate that the real economic impact of these apps is limited, as American products only account for about 1% of total sales in Denmark. Behavioral researcher Pelle Guldborg Hansen from Roskilde University said that the apps are more an emotional and social reaction to Trump's statements, rather than a real effect of a mass boycott.
