According to a survey by the market research company NielsenIQ, people in Germany are tightening their belts because of the drastically rising prices. A good half of consumers (52 percent) say they only buy products that they really need, according to NielsenIQ, based on a representative survey of more than 10,000 people.
Around 44 percent of respondents said in the survey that they avoid products “that are fun and luxury”, 31 percent try to reduce restaurant visits and prefer to treat themselves at home. Around 30 percent of respondents agreed with the statement: “I shop less.”
“It is currently striking that more and more people are apparently asking themselves what they can do without and then do so,” said NielsenIQ expert Lothar Staiblin. “In addition, people also use many other saving strategies. They compare prices more, pay more attention to special offers, switch to cheaper products such as private labels or buy more often from discounters.” However, switching to retail brands or discounters plays a much smaller role than is generally assumed.
“The longer the crisis lasts, the more opportunities people will make to save,” emphasized Saiblin. According to NielsenIQ, many consumers are also open to changing their consumption habits when it comes to saving. So butter is replaced by margarine, tap water is drunk instead of mineral water or deodorant is completely dispensed with.
According to the survey, only around 10 percent of the population are not worried at all about inflation – unsurprisingly, it is mostly higher earners. (dpa)