Basically all Baltic residents admit following their everyday expenses in order to reduce them. According to results of a survey by Rimi, the main expenses group in which 48% of Latvian residents look for ways to save money is various food products.
Latvian and Lithuanian residents mainly try to save money on various sweets and snacks, whereas Estonian residents in most cases reduce consumption of meat products, according to results of the survey by Rimi.
Results also show that aside from saving money on food, Latvian residents also save money on clothes and footwear (42%), as well as various types of entertainment (38%). The next position is various housing maintenance-related expenses. Austerity priorities in all three Baltic States are generally similar. At the same time, there is an interesting trend – women seem to be the most active when it comes to saving money. In most cases, men save money on clothes and entertainment.
Latvian residents say that when it comes to reducing expenses, they usually start with sweets (37%) and delicacies (33%). 30% say they reduce meat consumption. The situation is nearly identical in Lithuania. In Estonia, residents reduce meat consumption in order to lower expenses – this step is made by 40% Estonian residents.
“Over the course of last year we’ve also noticed a change in consumers’ demand in our stores. Buyers now focus more on everyday products. If we compare this to 2022, we can see the drop in sales of sweets is noticeable, but just slightly – approximately 4%. We can also see that in the fresh meat group residents mostly prefer chicken meat and sub-products, as sales have increased by a third. People buy the most expensive pork, beef, or beef steaks less often now,” says Rimi Latvia public relations manager Inga Bite.
She says that last year there as almost a 13% increase in demand for Rimi private goods, as buyers were actively looking for cheaper alternatives for everyday products. This is why we have updated our private goods brand offer and have introduced massive wide price reduction programmes. Survey results also show that buyers actively use discounts, as 78% of residents base their everyday purchases on various discount offers.
“Generally we can see Latvian residents are reasonable about their shopping and they look through offers stores have. Residents also make impulsive decisions less often. 70% of respondents say that they follow price/goods proportion and always consider the price of goods per 1 kg or litre. Combining shopping lists from various store networks is also a popular method – 37% of residents use this option,” the company explains.
Also read: In Q4 2023, the average monthly gross wages in Estonia were 1 904 euros
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