Eesti ja Saksamaa jaekaubanduse käivete võrdlusanalüüs Covid-19 tingimustes

Lõputöö eesmärk on selgitada välja muutused Eesti ja Saksamaa jaekaubanduse käibe dünaamikale COVID-19 epideemia tingimustes, et parendada valmisolekut sarnastes kriisides toimetulekuks jaekaubanduses. Empiirilise uuringu tulemusel selgus, et nii Eestis kui Saksamaal oli COVID-19 epideemia piirangutel jaekaubanduse käivetele oluline mõju. Muutused inimeste igapäevases töökorralduses tähendasid, et nii tööl kui koolis hakati käima läbi virtuaalsete meetmete, millel omakorda oli mõju arvutite ja nende lisaseadmete müügikäivetele, kuna hakati ostma oluliselt rohkem süle- ja lauaarvuteid, klaviatuure, hiiri ning muid vajalikke seadmeid. Uuringus selgus ka, et piirangute ajal kasvasid Eestis müügikäibed Saksamaaga võrreldes oluliselt kiiremini side- ja koduseadmete kaubagrupis, kuna need olid samuti vajalikud kaugtöö tegemiseks. 2020 aasta kevadel aprillis ja mais toimus hüppeline e-kaubanduse kasv. Käivete erinevust Saksamaaga oli II kv 32% võrdlusaasta suhtes. Suurest erinevusest ja Eesti järsemast käibekasvust oli võimalik järeldada, et Eesti e-kaubandus tervikuna ning siinsed tarbijad olid paremini valmis kasutama sisseostude tegemiseks interneti keskkondasid, kui seda olid Saksamaa tarbijad. Analüüsis ilmnes ka, et Eestlased hakkasid riide- ja tekstiilikaupu ostma Saksamaa inimestest palju varem. Sellele aitas kaasa asjaolu, et paljud riidekaupluste kettidel on täna Eestis oma e-poed. 2020 aasta teises pooles oli indeksaasta suhtes Eesti ja Saksamaa jaekauplustes selles kategoorias ca 30%.

The title of this thesis is “Estonia’s and Germany’s retail commerce turnover analysis during COVID-19 conditions”. The thesis consists of 55 pages, 17 figures and 2 tables. The COVID-19 epidemic and the restrictions it brought has shaped the way people work, go to school or buy food or clothing. As many of these changes are linked with global retail commerce, it influenced the turnover results of retail businesses and the channels from which consumers bought their goods. During the writing of this thesis COVID-19 was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization meaning that it was a widespread infectious disease that had spread to multiple continents. The aim of this thesis to find out the effects COVID-19 had on the turnover rates of retail commerce in Estonia and Germany. The data can help retail businesses with decision-making should there be a similar spread of disease in the future with possible restriction on everyday product sales operations. The method for the empirical study is quantitative. The data for its completion was collected from Eurostat which is the statistical office of the European Union. The author collected the retail turnover data from the period 2018-2020 of various product categories and completed a comparative deductive content analysis. The results of the empirical study show that the government enforced restrictions of COVID-19 had an effect on the turnover rates of retail businesses in Estonia and Germany. The changes on how work and school activities were conducted during the lockdown led to a rapid increase in sales of computers and their peripherals. The study showed that the growth was much more rapid in Estonia compared to Germany. This was due to Estonian companies already existing readiness to operate remotely. Data from the analysis showed that during the 2020 restrictions turnover of online sales spiked as consumers shifted from physical shopping to virtual. The results of the empirical study show that in the case of a widespread disease like it was seen with COVID-19 it is advised for retail businesses to overview their stock of devices that are used to work remotely to avoid issues with availability and increase turnover. Additionally it is recommended for retail businesses to consider expanding to a online sales channel if possible to alleviate the negative effects restrictions have on sales operations.