The consumer climate barometer for January drops significantly by five to minus 6.8 points, which is the second month in a row. Economists had only expected a drop to 2.7 points.
(Photo: dpa)
Berlin The mood of consumers in Germany worsened noticeably at the turn of the year. The main reasons are rising corona cases and high inflation, as the Nuremberg-based GfK market researchers announced on Tuesday for their December survey of 2000 people.
The consumer climate barometer for January drops significantly by five to minus 6.8 points, which is the second month in a row. The last time it was lower was in June. Economists had only expected a drop to 2.7 points.
“High incidences due to the fourth wave of the corona pandemic with further restrictions as well as significantly increased prices are increasingly affecting the consumer climate,” explained GfK expert Rolf Bürkl. “The 2G rule for large parts of the retail sector in particular is dealing a heavy blow to the Christmas business.”
Virus mutations are a cause for concern. “The prospects for the beginning of the coming year are also subdued against the background of the rapid expansion of the Omikron variant,” emphasized Bürkl.
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The prospects for the consumer economy in 2022 depended on the course of the pandemic. Rapid and successful control should ease the corona restrictions and thus stimulate consumption. “If, however, the infection rate increases again in the further course, the upswing will be further delayed.”
The economic outlook for consumers deteriorated noticeably towards the end of the year, and thus for the third time in a row. The last time the partial barometer had a lower value was in April. Income expectations also fell for the third month in a row. “Rising prices for energy and food are weakening the purchasing power of consumers’ incomes,” explained the GfK.
In addition, there is a risk that a so-called wage-price spiral will be set in motion in the medium and long term – in other words, trade unions demand significantly higher wages to compensate for inflation and companies therefore continue to raise their prices. People’s willingness to make bulk purchases fell to its lowest level since January. “The 2G rule for large parts of stationary retail on the one hand reduces the desire to shop, on the other hand, consumers who have neither been vaccinated nor recovered are completely eliminated,” it said in support of the reason.
More: For these four reasons, the German economy is currently shrinking again