Domestic specialty goods trade operating in a challenging economy is looking for growth and efficiency through digitalization  

The business models of the commerce sector are currently undergoing a major transformation. In a challenging situation, targeting RDI funding and services to projects that increase the productivity and digitalisation of commerce and services would help Finnish specialty goods trade.

“In Finland, we can produce innovations, but we cannot implement them sufficiently at companies. The service sector in Finland has invested in building offices, but not for the use of software and data, for example, such as the neighbouring country in Sweden. This should also be better taken into account in the national RDI policy,” says Simo Hiilamo, Director, Public Policy and Advocacy at the Finnish Commerce Federation.

It is important to ensure that SMEs have sufficient skills and resources to put innovations into practice. Business Finland, which provides support funding to SMEs, should take into account services and consumer business activities that benefit businesses in the commerce sector in its programmes.

An effective incentive for SMEs to embrace innovation would be a digital service voucher.

“The digital service voucher would be allocated to companies, and companies could decide for themselves what they would use it for. The service voucher would lower the threshold for companies to invest in the digital development they need,” Hiilamo explains.

Peer learning and cooperation between companies should also be strengthened with universities.

Founded just under a year ago, the social enterprise Digital Commerce Finland Oy (DCF) has proven to be a vital community for both Finnish specialty goods trade and others interested in e-commerce in order to accelerate digital commerce and growth. There are currently 27 active peer-to-peer sparring clubs across the country, with a total of more than 200 online stores.

“Digital Commerce Finland is a significant new community for companies to network and peer-to-peer digital expertise sparring. Such a community should also receive support for its activities, emphasises Hiilamo.

Finnish specialty goods trade can compete against Chinese giants with sustainability

International competition through e-commerce is fierce, and Chinese cheap retail platform giants in particular, such as Temu and Shein, are rushing into the domestic specialty trade market.

The Chinese giants have already changed the operating logic of e-commerce with AI-based solutions, among other things, but are gaining a competitive advantage by avoiding consumer protection, product safety and environmental obligations, for example.

“Although there are a lot of questionable features in the operations of Temu and Shein, the Finnish specialty goods trade can also learn something from them. Temu and Shein have been able to harness technological innovations, such as applications using artificial intelligence, automatic and predictive ordering systems and gamification,” says Ulla Pöllänen, CEO at the Federation of Finnish Special Commodity Trade ETU.

The EU’s sustainability reporting obligations for companies will also affect SMEs in the near future, although most of them are not covered by legislation.

“The competitive advantage of the Finnish specialty goods trade over, for example, Chinese cheap online stores is sustainability. In the future, stores will also be able to verify this,” Pöllänen notes.

For further information, please contact:

Simo Hiilamo, Director, Public Policy and Advocacy, Finnish Commerce Federation, tel. +358 50 350 7564, simo.hiilamo(at)kauppa.fi

Ulla Pöllänen, Chief Executive Officer, Federation of Finnish Special Commodity Trade ETU, tel. +358 50 300 1660, ulla.pollanen(at)etu.fi