Consumer Satisfaction and Dissatisfaction in Estonia

Abstract

The main focus of this paper is consumer satisfaction/dissatisfaction in Estonia. The breakdown of the Soviet Union created a new economic and political situation in Estonia. Studies carried out by the Estonian Institute for
Market Research make it possible to follow the development of consumer satisfaction in Estonia's transformation from a command economy to a market economy.

Estonian consumers have a very difficult economic situation, and it is not surprising that the overall level of dissatisfaction is high. It may be more surprising that satisfaction with food supply is rather high and, in fact, increasing. However, this does not mean that consumers in Estonia are satisfied with the supply of all consumer goods or that all consumers are more satisfied with the supply in 1992 than in 1990. There are big differences between consumer groups and product groups. Estonian consumers feel consumer goods are too expensive and the quality of goods and services is low. While consumer satisfaction with the supply of consumer goods increased during the last year, the opposite is the case for consumers' evaluations of prices. This indicates that for Estonian consumers, prices are a more serious problem than the supply of consumer goods. In the future the quality of goods and services will become more important for Estonian consumers.