Finnish consumers' assessment of their current state of finances declined slightly in February compared to January, according to Statistics Finland.
The confidence indicator slipped to -9.5 in February 2024 from -9.1 in January. However, it is an improvement from -13.3 seen in December, Statistics Finland noted.
The overall expectation for the Finnish economy was pessimistic.
"Consumer confidence in February remains at the same level as in January. In 12 months' time, consumers will still see their own economy as positive as in January, while their experience of their own economy at the moment has weakened slightly," added Heidi Lauttamäki, economist at the Finnish Commerce Federation.
Consumer Trends
Consumers considered the month as unfavourable for buying durable goods, with scarce intentions to use the money for consumption.
Moreover, the intention to buy an apartment continued to be very sluggish among consumers, Statistics Finland added.
In February, consumers' perceptions of their financial situation improved slightly to average levels.
People were pessimistic about the overall unemployment trend and individuals perceived a significant personal risk of unemployment, according to Statistics Finland.
"The outlook for unemployment in 12 months' time and the threat of unemployment for the consumer weakened slightly from the January figures. Overall, unemployment indicators are at a weak level", Lauttamäki added.
In 2022, Finnish shoppers were named the most sustainable in Europe, according to a study by Savoo, having seen a 20% decrease in their consumption footprint between 2010 and 2020.
The study, which ranked shoppers in 30 different countries in areas such as recycling rate, consumption footprint and waste per capita, noted that Finland also sits at the top of the Sustainable Development Report’s ranking of all 193 UN Member States, scoring 86.51 out of a possible 100.
