The number of Finnish consumers engaging in online grocery shopping is on the rise with one-fifth saying they have used the medium, a study by Kaupan Liitto, the Finnish Commerce Federation, has revealed.
Online purchases among families with children went up by 13% in the latest three weeks, with 30% shoppers buying more than they used to before the coronavirus crisis, the study noted.
A majority of these consumers also said that they were happy with their shopping experience.
The study also found that shoppers below the age of 50 plan to engage more in online purchasing
Jaana Kurjenoja, chief economist of the Confederation of Finnish Trade Unions, commented, "Regular users of online food stores have more than doubled during the coronavirus epidemic, while the number of those that are experimenting with the platform is also growing."
Senior Shoppers
The trend is also growing among older shoppers, with almost a quarter of customers aged 65 and above saying that they plan to increase their online purchases.
Three weeks ago, only 18% of shoppers in this age group expressed their desire to shop online, data showed.
Kurjenoja explained, "The corona epidemic has clearly acted as a kind of icebreaker for older people to shop online, which is now growing exponentially. The longer the crisis lasts, the more permanent the phenomenon is."
In-Store Transactions
The study also found that more consumers reduced their in-store transactions during this period.
The number of Finnish consumers who reduced their visits to stores increased by three percentage points, to 63%, during the three weeks.
In the Helsinki metropolitan area, 72% of shoppers reduced their visits to department stores, shopping malls and specialty stores.
Chief executive of the Confederation of Finnish Trade Unions, Mari Kiviniemi said, "We continue to call for targeted support for viable trading companies that have been hit by the crisis as a result of corona measures. The best, quickest forms of support for trade companies are crisis subsidies targeted at fixed costs, such as rents and salaries."
© 2020 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Dayeeta Das. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine.
