In May, representatives of SMEs participating in the survey rated the current economic situation of the country on a ten-point scale with an average score of 6.88. In the first index, this indicator was 6.76, so the businesses’ view of Lithuania’s economic condition has not changed significantly.
Meanwhile, entrepreneurs view the results of the past 2 months more positively than during the first survey – the average rating rose from 6.17 to 7.09 points. These sentiments are mainly driven by increased sales – more than half of respondents report sales changes from 5 to 20 percent and even higher.
The greatest activity is felt by businesses oriented towards the end consumer: household appliances, electronics goods, furniture, flooring, construction, and dentistry companies. Meanwhile, sectors related to infrastructure, equipment, and other business investments do not yet see a significant change. This indicates that consumption growth in the market is uneven.
“Some partners associate this with the second pension pillar reform. It is likely that residents viewed this as an opportunity to purchase more expensive, perhaps previously postponed purchases or health services, so these businesses are observing increased consumption and sales,” comments Paulius Arbačiauskas, Sales Manager at Inbank.
Maintaining cautious optimism
Although not all sectors equally feel the growing consumption, business expectations for the next 2 months are quite positive – they are rated 7.56 out of 10.
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Interestingly, even those companies that rate their current results more conservatively see future prospects more positively than the current situation. According to P. Arbačiauskas, this shows that businesses expect continued consumption activity and its broader impact on different sectors.
However, this number is slightly lower than recorded in the first index (7.81 points). This suggests that although businesses expect the continuation of consumption activity, overall sentiments remain cautiously optimistic.
“This is especially relevant for sectors that directly depend on residents’ financial confidence, moods, and larger purchases,” says P. Arbačiauskas.
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