2024-08-27 16:49:05
Fear of losing one’s job or even of one’s own company going bankrupt is making people in Germany less interested in shopping. Instead, people are saving more, say consumer researchers.
Rising unemployment, more bankruptcies and a poor economic outlook: consumer sentiment in Germany has suffered a severe setback this month. After a recovery in July, the consumer climate fell significantly in August, according to the latest consumer climate study by the Nuremberg-based institutes GfK and NIM.
In the forecast for September, the consumer climate index only comes in at minus 22 points, a deterioration of 3.4 points, as the institutes announced. Before the corona pandemic, the index had been comparatively stable at around plus ten points.
Expectations regarding income and economic development have declined, as has the propensity to buy – but the propensity to save has increased.
“Apparently the euphoria that the European Football Championship triggered in Germany was only a brief flare-up and disappeared after the end of the tournament. In addition, there are negative reports about job security, which are making consumers more pessimistic again and making a quick recovery in consumer sentiment seem unlikely,” said NIM consumer expert Rolf Bürkl.
“Slightly rising unemployment figures, an increase in corporate bankruptcies and staff reduction plans by various companies in Germany are causing a number of employees to worry about their jobs,” stressed Bürkl.
Private households see their financial situation in the next twelve months as significantly less rosy than a month ago: the income expectations indicator lost 16.2 points. “A larger decline in income sentiment within a month was last measured almost two years ago, in September 2022,” the two institutes said – but at that time there were considerably higher inflation rates.
For the monthly study, the consumer researchers surveyed around 2,000 people between August 1 and 12. The study was commissioned by the EU Commission.