How Does Price Increase Change Finnish Consumer Behavior?

Prices of both groceries and electricity have been steadily increasing during 2022. According to Statista research, the prices of groceries increased 12,5 percent during August 2022 and another 14,5 percent during September, which is the fastest rate of increase Finland has seen since it became a part of the EU. Prices have driven citizens of Finland to consider their spending a bit more strictly than in previous years. Let's take a closer look at how and which categories of goods were most affected by the price increase.

Higher Grocery Bills Affect ALL Consumption: From Luxury Goods to Pet Food

While people need to spend more money on groceries, it reflects on all other aspects of their spending. According to promo-codes.fi experts, luxury goods purchases decreased in 2022 by 63% compared to the previous year. The reason is that people need to prioritize their increasing living expenses. But the rise in prices affected not only the purchase of luxury items. Particularly sensitive was the rise in prices in the segment of goods for pets.

According to the PetFood Industry’s report, 2022 inflation for animal food is as fast as human food. Statistics show that the increase in prices for animal feed in August 2022 was recorded 13.1% more compared to prices for the same period last year. This increase in prices, in turn, caused an increased demand for coupons for pet goods, for example, such as Peten Koiratarvike alennuskoodi, as the Finns are trying to make savings with necessities for their pets as well.

Electricity and Fuel Prices Rise Is a Key Factor

Most of the price increases with groceries and other consumer goods can be explained by the all-time high price of energy, which affects the entire food industry, starting all the way from farming. The average price of electricity has been 17,62 cents/kWh during the year when it was only 9,21 cents/kWh previously. Currently, there are no predictions of the prices dropping significantly, at least in the following months.

According to Global Petrol Prices’ statistics, the price of peat was the only one of power plant fuels to fall slightly during the second quarter of 2022. The climbing prices of both electricity and transportation liquid raised the energy prices for consumers as well. The prices of Motor Gasoline 95 E10 and Diesel fuel have been at an all-time high at over 200 cents per liter.