INDICATORS OF CONSUMER BEHAVIOR OF LATVIA HOUSEHOLDS IN THE CONTEXT OF EU COUNTRIES: COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS

The article considers the ways in which income, expectations, habits, preferences of consumers influence the value of internal demand as the main driving force of recovery from recession for the economies of EU countries, including Latvia. Subjective factors of consumption are reflected by the Indicator of consumer assurance and Indicator of economic moods. The article analyzes the above mentioned indicators and their dynamics for 2009 in Latvia and the EU countries. Essential factor of demonstration of consumer behavior in Latvia is unemployment. Consumer assurance and economic mood are quite low in Latvia in comparison with the general level of these indicators in the EU. In this difficult situation consumers will seek possibility to maintain consumption at the previous level at the expense of additional employment and income or usage of their savings. The work is performed within the limits of: Eiropas Sociālais fonds (ESF) projekts ?Atbalsts Daugavpils Universitātes doktora studiju īstenošanai ?Vienošanas Nr. 2009/0140/1DP/1.1.2.1.2./09/IPIA/VIAA/015?”. Aim of research: comparative analysis of consumer behavior of Latvia households in the context of the EU countries. Methodology of research: theories of consumer behavior, economic approach to human behavior in the context of choice problem; social and psychological concepts of consumer preferences; “new marketing approach” or “behavioral marketing”; study of peculiarities of consumer behaviour from the point of view of economic agent peculiarities in the conditions of market economy establishment; qualitative assessments of “mid class” consumer behavior; researches dedicated to the economic and sociological approaches to market studies and separation in this connection of economic and sociological aspects of consumer behavior; interdisciplinary approaches to studying social and psychological grounds of consumer behavior. Економічний вісник університету | Випуск № 21/1 Results of research: the analysis shows the tendency to improving the economic mood in the EU. Economic situation in Latvia from the point of view of its population remains difficult and consumer assurance is not expected to essentially improve within the coming year, though the economic mood may grow. Consumer behavior will not tend to the considerable increase of purchases. Many citizens of Latvia connect improvement of economic situation with the reduction on unemployment. For them employment and economic situation in the country are equal concepts. In this difficult situation Latvian consumer will seek possibility to maintain consumption at the previous level at the expense of additional employment and income or usage of their savings.