trade

Customers' experiences with the service create customer satisfaction and thus loyalty to the store. The importance of the service experience to customer satisfaction is particularly strong for customers over the age of 50. In Finland, with its changing age structure, it is increasingly important to consider how to respond to the needs of customers of different ages. The best service experience and customer satisfaction is found in the grocery trade and the weakest in the hardware trade, as well as in the interior decoration and furniture trade.

Retail sector turnover grew by almost four per cent during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, COVID-19 treated commerce industries very differently. The growth in last year’s turnover is not visible as growth in the number of people employed in the commerce sector or as new companies in the commerce sector. Instead, they continue their downward trend. The pandemic helped online retail reach record figures. Ensuring purchasing power, competence and entrepreneurship is key when advancing to the time after COVID-19.