The German Retail Association (HDE) reports that the high price increases for energy in Germany have significantly changed the shopping behavior of consumers. For example, the latest HDE “Consumer Monitor Prices” for 2022/23 shows that eight out of ten consumers are affected by rising energy costs, and a third are very afraid of not being able to make ends meet.
“The high energy costs are causing many consumers to pay even closer attention to the price when they shop. This is massively changing shopping behavior patterns,” commented HDE CEO Stefan Genth. According to HDE’s Consumer Monitor Prices, one-third of those affected by soaring energy prices are responding by taking cost-cutting measures. In general, people are saving in the areas of fashion and gastronomy in particular. But savings efforts are also increasing in the areas of leisure and cultural events as well as vacations. At the product level, the focus is on leisure and hobby as well as home and furnishings. When shopping, four out of ten consumers are generally spending less on brand-name products. In some product groups, this figure is as high as 70 percent. Just under half of the consumers are limiting their spending on non-food products. That is 3.3 percent more than last May.
According to the HDE study, a third of the people in Germany are very worried about not being able to make ends meet; this figure is six percentage points higher than in May 2022.
For the HDE Consumer Monitor Prices, the IFH Cologne retail research institute surveyed 1,000 consumers in October 2022.
