“No recovery in sight”
Consumer sentiment poor – Germans prefer to save
September 27, 2023, 10:36 a.m
Listen to article
This audio version was artificially generated. More info | Send feedback
German consumers keep their money together: According to GfK, the Germans’ tendency to put their money aside is stronger than their desire to consume. Because of the persistently high inflation, not much is likely to change quickly, according to market researchers.
The persistently high inflation has further dampened the mood among consumers. There is therefore “no recovery in sight” for the coming year, explained the market research company GfK. For October, the GfK forecast a consumer climate of minus 26.5 points – 0.9 points less than in September.
According to GfK, there have recently been slight increases in economic expectations, which were at minus 3.4 points, and in income expectations, which are now at minus 11.3 points. The propensity to buy also increased slightly to minus 16.4 points. But that is still a “very low value”.
The market researchers emphasized that a “significant increase in the propensity to save” would lead to a decline in the overall consumer climate. The propensity to save rose by 7.5 points to 8.0 points – this is the highest level since April 2011. “This means that the chances of a recovery in consumer sentiment this year have probably fallen to zero,” explained GfK consumer expert Rolf Bürkl . Private consumption will “not make a positive contribution to overall economic development” this year.
For its representative studies on the consumer climate, the market research institute conducts monthly interviews with consumers about their economic expectations, their income expectations and their propensity to purchase. For the current survey, around 2,000 people were surveyed from August 31st to September 11th. According to GfK, the consumer climate refers to total private consumer spending, including retail, services, travel, rent and health services.