Buying the right products in the right season could save German households an average of over 1,000 euros a year in unnecessary expenses. If you add rent, electricity, gas and other non-dispensable expenses, it can even be up to 5,000 euros. That’s what Barclays Bank found in a new study. The “Barclays price radar” indicates when consumers should – if possible – keep their hands off which products.
Prices fluctuate the most in the fashion industry
To do this, the bank evaluated all product and price data from the consumer price index over the last few years and determined the intensity of price fluctuations. These almost doubled in 2022 compared to previous years – on average, the largest price difference in all product classes was 8.5 percent. If all consumers in Germany had made their new purchases during the cheapest season, they would have saved a total of 43 billion euros. Of course, that’s not always possible: “Price fluctuations can become a problem, especially if purchases can’t be postponed. Thanks to our analysis, we now know for the first time which products consumers can use to avoid the effects of price fluctuations,” Tobias Grieß is quoted in the Barclays price radar.
According to the study, prices fluctuate the most in the product categories fashion (11.1 percent), household & garden (9.1 percent), cars and car accessories (7.8 percent) and electronics (7.1 percent). So it makes a lot of sense to shop by season if possible.
When are which products cheapest?
The Barclays price radar does not explain why which products are cheapest when. To do this, he gives consumers a list of the months in which certain products are particularly cheap or particularly expensive:
Fashion: cheapest in January, most expensive in October
Household & garden: cheapest in January, most expensive in November/December
Cars and car accessories: cheapest in January, most expensive in December
PC accessories and e-book readers: cheapest from March to May, most expensive in November
Home cinema systems and audio equipment: cheapest in July/August, most expensive in February
Monitors, printers, laptops: cheapest in October/November, most expensive in January
TV, game consoles, digital cameras: cheapest in December, most expensive in January
A tip if high expenses are not possible every season
If you don’t have enough money in your account for the corresponding purchase during the cheapest season, you can often still benefit from the lower prices. “We are observing that our customers are increasingly making use of the option of converting individual purchases into installment payments when using their credit cards. This can make sense, especially in the event of large price fluctuations, for example if the savings exceed the interest to be paid,” says Grieß in the Barclays price radar announcement. In months when the prices are lower, concluding a contract for payment by installments can therefore be worthwhile.
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