Finns prefer consolidated official messages: study

Finns find the current state of official electronic communication too scattered across various services, according to a recent survey commissioned by the national postal and logistic services operator Posti,

Almost everyone expressed the need for a single service to compile messages, invoices, and documents, said Posti in a press release on Tuesday referring to the study.

“Digital communication will see a significant increase in the coming years. We wanted to understand how Finns prefer to receive electronic messages,” said Anna Storm, Posti’s Vice President, Sustainability and Stakeholder Relations.

"The study painted a clear picture: the current situation is fragmented, and Finns are in need of a single, easy-to-use service. Domestic actors, in particular, are trusted.”

When it comes to receiving official messages and letters, email (78%) remains the most commonly used channel.

OmaPosti (58%), Suomi.fi (54%), and SMS (52%) follow closely. Other options, such as applications from different providers, are used significantly less frequently.

More than half (54%) of the respondents agreed that communication and documentation related to the management of official affairs are too scattered across different services. Only a fifth (19%) of respondents disagreed.

When asked about future needs, almost all respondents (89%) considered it important for digital messages and notifications related to official matters to be consolidated in one place. The receipt of invoices (86%) and storage of digital documents (91%) were also desired in one location.

Data security is viewed as a crucial factor in services. Four out of five respondents (84%) considered it important to have control over how and what their data is used for.

A majority (63%) of respondents expressed trust in domestic, well-known actors not misusing their data.

However, every sixth respondent (16%) disagreed with this statement.

OmaPosti is used by the majority (84%) of the working-age population. Almost everyone (92%) among the younger users utilizes the service. The service is primarily used for tracking parcels (75%), but already more than half of the users (60%) use OmaPosti for receiving letters and invoices.

The survey, conducted by research company Norstati on behalf of Posti, received responses from 2,520 individuals during the spring of 2024.