Year: 2024

Commerce sector companies must be eligible for R&D subsidies to increase productivity

The labour needs of the commerce sector will change significantly in the coming years. Digitalisation and the green transition in particular are shaping the work tasks of the sector and require employees to have a higher level of competence. R&D subsidies would help commerce sector companies to create employment. Increasing the amount of higher education graduates and work-related immigration is also key to solving the skills shortage.

Harassment and threats in stores continue to increase – Finnish Commerce Federation and PAM campaign against inappropriate behaviour

The Finnish Commerce Federation's and Service Union United (PAM)'s Ollaan ihmisiksi ('Let's behave') campaign launches on 10 December 2024 during the Christmas shopping season. The campaign seeks to raise customers’ awareness of the role their behaviour plays in promoting the occupational well-being of customer service professionals. More tools are also expected for legislation.

Specialty and household goods trade’s expectations for the Christmas season are slightly higher than last year  

Finns’ faith in their own finances has strengthened and, at the same time, the expectations of the specialty and household goods trade for sales towards the end of the year have also improved. This year, however, Christmas trade is burdened by the tightening of VAT just before the Christmas season, which further reduces weakly developed purchasing power. The Christmas season really begins in mid-November when global campaigns also attract Finnish consumers. Although December is by far the biggest sales month for retail, November's home technology sales have already passed December's. 

The Finnish Commerce Federation is satisfied with the EU Commission’s decision to investigate the operations of the Chinese Temu 

The Finnish Commerce Federation is satisfied with the European Commission’s decision to investigate the operations of the Chinese e-commerce platform Temu. Together with other Nordic commerce sector organisations, the Finnish Commerce Federation has actively highlighted challenges related to marketplaces operating from third countries and the competitive disadvantages arising from their operations. 

Commerce provides employment and tax revenue in Finland – however, domestic specialty goods trade is affected by the government’s tax policy  

Commerce is one of the largest sectors of business life and the Finnish economy, both as an employer, a creator of economic growth and a payer of taxes. The VAT revenue generated by commerce's domestic sales is also up to half of total VAT revenue in Finland. However, the government has weakened the international competitiveness of specialty goods trade by tightening VAT, and this tightening will not be reflected in the tax revenue as the government has hoped. 

Energy consumption and emissions in the commerce sector are decreasing effectively, but achieving the targets requires political decisions

In 2022, companies in the commerce sector reduced their electricity consumption by one per cent and their heat consumption by 9 per cent compared to 2021, says Statistics Finland. According to the carbon index for commerce, the sector’s CO2 emissions decreased by 12.3 per cent at the same time. Commerce's goal is to achieve carbon neutrality by 2035 and zero emissions by 2050, but achieving these goals requires policy measures that support the sector.