tutkimus

Fashion Trade NOW: Growth in fashion trade is slow, but supermarket fashion is strengthening

Last year, Finns spent approximately EUR 5.2 billion on clothing. According to the Finnish Commerce Federation’s forecast, the fixed-price consumption of clothing and footwear will grow at an annual rate of less than one per cent this year and next year, and consumption will not yet return to the level before the pandemic. Even though growth is slow, e-commerce and circular trade are changing the structure of fashion trade. At the same time, however, domestic supermarkets are able to respond to foreign competition.

Domestic e-commerce grew faster than the whole retail sector at the beginning of the year – Online retailers’ expectations of growth have reached record levels

E-commerce in Finland grew by 5.1 per cent in the first quarter of the year, which is faster than the whole retail sector on average. At the same time, online retailers’ expectations of growth for domestic sales, in particular, have clearly strengthened, says the recent Verkkokauppapulssi survey.

Recent Finnish Commerce Federation survey: domestic e-commerce grew by 5.3 per cent in 2025 – social media still guides the purchasing behaviour of older age groups

Last year, domestic e-commerce managed to grow slightly faster than foreign e-commerce in Finland. At the same time, Temu has become the seventh most popular online store in Finland, and one in ten euros spent on online purchases ends up in China. Social media already influences the purchasing decisions of more than half of Finns aged 18–64.

Commerce is starting to grow – the brake on consumption is easing up

The sales volume and turnover of the retail sector have been growing since September. However, employment in the retail sector continues to fall. The Finnish Commerce Federation predicts that sales will grow moderately this and next year. At the same time, however, it estimates that up to 12,000-13,000 jobs in the sector will be lost by 2027 when compared to 2024. Consumers' caution is slowing down the recovery of demand, and the Finnish Commerce Federation is proposing an increase in the tax credit for household expenses and a temporary removal of transfer tax to accelerate consumption.

A lack of competence is slowing down the growth of companies in the service sector

The growth in the number of personnel in the service sectors has slowed. According to the joint Service sector skill survey of the Finnish Commerce Federation, Service Sector Employers Palta and the Finnish Hospitality Association MaRa, recruitment difficulties have eased for a while, but the declining age groups of people of working age are also creating challenges in the service sectors. The most common challenge in recruitment is the mismatch between competence and the needs of the company.