Achievements
Major milestones and joint accomplishments.
Regulations
1. We negotiate the requirements imposed on food retailers as providers of a vital service.
We have developed a self-regulatory agreement that ensures the most cost-effective solution for supplying the population with food in the event of a crisis. Under the leadership of the Merchants' Association, several unreasonably burdensome requirements have been removed from the list of obligations.
2. We are working with the state to make paper-receipt issuance voluntary.
In 2023, the Ministry of Economic Affairs is working on a notice of intent to draft a legislative amendment that would make issuing a paper receipt to the consumer mandatory only at the consumer's request. The change would save paper and ink and is supported by environmental protection organisations. The Merchants' Association is helping the Ministry with data collection and analysis and is seeking a cost-effective solution for merchants.
3. Standing up for the retail sector during the COVID-19 crisis.
The Merchants' Association applied for and negotiated both state-funded rent support and fixed-cost support for the retail sector. When the COVID crisis broke out, we applied for and obtained personal protective equipment and COVID tests for front-line workers as a priority. The Merchants' Association successfully stood up on several occasions for keeping trade companies open while businesses in many other sectors were closed. This was made possible thanks to active enforcement of self-regulation. In many other European countries, retail was hit considerably harder than in Estonia, because here shops could remain open more freely. We coordinated guidelines for merchants with various state authorities, preventing inefficient additional obligations.
4. Reducing the placing on the market of plastic carrier bags.
Through self-regulation we have reduced the placing of single-use plastic bags on the market without the state needing to set a minimum price. Thanks to making plastic bags chargeable and removing free plastic bags from checkouts, we have independently achieved the national targets set for 2025 for reducing the use of lightweight plastic bags.
Fees and benefits
1. We concluded framework agreements with the Estonian Performers' Association and the Estonian Authors' Society.
Members of the Merchants' Association can, through framework agreements, play copyright-protected music on their premises at a significantly more favourable price. The saving is 15–40% off the standard rate.
2. Higher reimbursements for deposit-return points.
The Merchants' Association is one of the owners and founders of Eesti Pandipakend, through which we stand for an exemplary return rate for beverage containers. In 2022 we negotiated a new compensation model for retail merchants, which significantly increased the compensation received by smaller deposit-return points in particular and ensured annual indexation and increases in fees paid to the merchant.
3. Over the years we have prevented several attempts to introduce charges under the banner of environmental protection that would distort competition, be unworkable in practice, or increase fraud in packaging reporting.
A plastic tax, separate recycling targets and special fees for sales packaging, and an obligation to collect all kinds of waste at retail premises have not been introduced.
4. We actively coordinated the retail sector's own efforts to halt the spread of COVID infection and mitigate risks.
The companies of the Merchants' Association led the way and proactively put self-regulation in place on several occasions, helping the police, among other things, enforce the mask requirement on retail premises. Within the framework of self-regulation, our association members limited campaigns and events that would bring large numbers of people in to shop at the same time. At the start of the crisis, we set aside the first shopping hours for at-risk groups. We threw our weight behind the vaccination campaign, helping in cooperation with healthcare institutions to organise walk-in vaccinations at shopping centres, marketplaces and shops. Many of our members handed out personal protective equipment to people free of charge. The retail sector made its marketing channels and surfaces available free of charge for state COVID prevention campaigns. We also led the sector's "Thanks To You" appreciation campaign, recognising front-line workers in retail and other walks of life and helping deliver the public's words of thanks and recognition to specific employees.
Work environment
1. We developed a mentoring programme for first-line managers in retail.
The Estonian Merchants' Association mentoring programme is a tailored solution created for the retail sector, supporting better onboarding of new shop employees and helping them cope with mental health. The focus is on customer-facing staff. Within the programme, mentors learn to provide emotional support, give feedback in a way that is easy to receive, and resolve conflict situations without burning out.
2. Under the leadership of the Merchants' Association, the Estonian retail sector is piloting flexible employment contracts in 2021–2023.
The pilot was made possible by a tripartite agreement between employer representatives, trade unions, and the Ministry of Social Affairs. We are advocating for variable-hours contracts to become a permanent option and for their terms to be made more attractive to both employers and employees.
Reputation building
1. Every year we run campaigns to recognise people working in retail and to invite young people to try working in the sector.
We explain the value of working in retail, run the "Work to your rhythm. Come to retail!" campaign twice a year, organise job-shadow days, and share the stories of retail employees. Our purpose is to make retail a top sector for young people — a place to gain work experience and build a career.
2. We take part in social campaigns and act as spokespersons on reducing food waste, reducing packaging, and responsible alcohol sales and consumption.
We have collaborated with the Food Bank, the Estonian Police, the National Institute for Health Development, Mondo, Tagasi Kooli, and several other organisations.
3. We ensure a safe shopping environment through exemplary ventilation in shopping centres.
The shopping centres belonging to the Merchants' Association have signed up to the self-regulatory Clean Air Agreement, committing to ensure exemplary air exchange in their common areas and sales floors. The project has been advised by the Consumer Protection and Technical Regulatory Authority and TalTech. The Merchants' Association has awarded these shopping centres the "We have clean air" label.
Knowledge
1. In cooperation with Statistics Estonia, we helped build the retail-statistics dashboard,
which users can personalise to receive the retail-sector indicators most relevant to them, in the format they prefer.
2. We provide feedback on every significant bill, initiative, development plan and study affecting the sector.
In doing so, we have successfully advocated against over-regulation of retail, kept additional bureaucracy to a minimum, and pushed for rules to be set in line with principles of reasonableness and balance — with proper assessment of economic impacts on retail, due regard for the actual market situation and the capabilities of both large and small merchants, and adequate transition periods for implementing significant changes. We are the hub of sectoral knowledge and bring specialists and decision-makers together.
3. In cooperation with state authorities we publish guides recognised by supervisors as market best practice and used as a basis for interpreting legislation.
In recent years, the Merchants' Association has, in cooperation with various state authorities, published guides on, among other things, the interpretation of restrictions on alcohol and tobacco sales, the interpretation of the requirements of the single-use plastics regulation, the interpretation of the new price-reduction rules under the Omnibus Directive, and the promotion of supply-chain good practice and good trade practice. The guides are an important aid for merchants in interpreting often unclear legal wording, advocate for reasonable interpretations, and help prevent disputes with supervisory authorities.