Heavy news for Swedish grocery stores
Ftrust in Swedish grocery stores is falling very sharply.
In recent months, the rate of inflation has begun to stabilize after a long period of high prices for goods and services in Sweden.
One of the big problems has been food prices, something that the Swedes have not forgotten even though the price increases now seem to have decreased.
This can be seen in the analysis company Infostat’s new survey, where trust in Swedish grocery stores falls sharply.
Big loser of the year
The grocery stores are described as “the big losers of the year” in terms of the trust of the Swedish people.
– Infostat’s annual industry confidence survey is on target, the company explains.
– The survey shows that the food chains are this year’s big losers. The industry reaches positive balance figures, there are more who have high confidence than who have little confidence, but the loss compared to 2023 is significant at minus 12 percentage points.
It has contributed
As households have had their purchasing power eroded, and the food giants have made good money, confidence has declined.
– Generally poorer households and in particular rising food prices and media about how food chains have acted around increased food prices is a possible explanation for households’ reduced confidence, Infostat continues.
– That the increased price situation has had an effect can be seen in the fact that households with poorer finances also have significantly less trust in the food chains.
More and more people are taking out loans
In line with the financial challenges that many households still feel, more and more choose to take out consumer loans.
This is shown by new figures from Statistics Sweden.
– The growth rate for household consumer loans was 4.1 percent in March, which is the highest measured growth rate since September 2022, says Irina Wiman, economist at Statistics Norway.
Lighting on the way
In May, however, the announcement that many households have longed for, the first interest rate cut for the coming cycle, is expected.
– Inflation has gone in the right direction and the latest outcome was significantly lower than our forecast, explains Riksbank Governor Erik Thedéen.
– That inflation has fallen back is good news and very welcome. This paves the way for purchasing power to return.
Photo: Ica, Coop, Willys
Text: The editors
