Messe Frankfurt Publishes Study on Buying Behavior in Germany
According to a new poll carried out by the forsa market-research company[1] on behalf of Messe Frankfurt, many Germans enjoy making spontaneous purchases. 58 percent of respondents said they had spent money spontaneously at least once in the last year. On the list of the most popular purchases, furnishings take third place ahead of entertainment electronics, CDs, DVDs and jewellery. Only clothing and books are purchased spontaneously more often. In 41 percent of such cases, the value of the articles bought is € 99 or less. According to the study, women tend to make spontaneous purchases more frequently than men – 49 percent of the women polled said they had spent money spontaneously more than once in 2011. The equivalent figure for men is only 39 percent. There are also differences in terms of age and household income with younger consumers and respondents with high incomes being more likely to make spontaneous purchases.
The pleasure of consumption is reflected not only by spontaneous purchases but also by the way Christmas bonuses are used. Six out of ten consumers who receive this additional income spent it almost immediately. In this case, furnishings hold fifth place in the leading group (22 percent) with Christmas bonuses only being spent more frequently on clothing, books, foodstuffs and semi-luxuries and entertainment electronics. “Generally speaking, Germans like to go shopping. And, in many cases, the decision is spontaneous. For example, to cheer themselves up or simply to treat themselves”, explains Stephan Kurzawski, Senior Vice President, Messe Frankfurt Exhibition GmbH.
More than two thirds of consumers spent more or a similar amount on furnishings and decorative articles in 2011 compared with the previous year. In this case, too, the retail trade can bank on younger consumers. In the 18 to 29 age group, 21 percent of respondents said they had spent more money on products in this category. Moreover, the amount spent on such products increases in line with net household income.
Moreover, furnishings and decorative articles are resistant to crises. Among those who had to cut down on their expenditures, only a fifth of those polled said they had gone without purchasing such products last year. This year, 65 percent of respondents want to spend more or as much on furnishings and decorative articles as last year. Thus, the perspectives for manufacturers and retailers in this segment are stable.
Excerpts from the ‘How Germany shops’ study were published during Ambiente, the world’s leading trade fair for the consumer-goods sector, earlier this year. They can now be downloaded in English or German from www.tendence.messefrankfurt.com.
Tendence, the international consumer-goods platform
Tendence (24 to 28 August 2012) is the biggest and most important order and trend barometer in the second half of the year. The range of products to be seen is relevant for all channels of distribution. For the retail trade, Tendence is the most important order platform for the Christmas business while bulk buyers can obtain an initial overview of new products for the coming spring and summer season, 2013. With 2,063 exhibitors from 67 countries and more than 52,000 trade visitors, Tendence occupied the entire western section of Frankfurt Fair and Exhibition Centre with 130,000 square metres of exhibition space (gross) in nine exhibition halls.[2]
Note for journalists:
You will find further information and high-resolution photographs on the internet at www.tendence.messefrankfurt.com/journalisten.
Background information on Messe Frankfurt
Messe Frankfurt is Germany’s leading trade fair organiser with € 457* million in sales and 1,769* employees worldwide. The Messe Frankfurt Group has a global network of 28 subsidiaries, five branch offices and 52 international Sales Partners, giving it a presence for its customers in more than 150 countries. Events ‘made by Messe Frankfurt’ take place at more than 30 locations around the globe. In 2011, Messe Frankfurt organised 101 trade fairs, of which more than half took place outside Germany.
Messe Frankfurt’s exhibition grounds, featuring 578,000 square metres, are currently home to ten exhibition halls and an adjacent Congress Centre. The company is publicly owned, with the City of Frankfurt holding 60 percent and the State of Hesse 40 percent. For more information, please visit our website at: www.messefrankfurt.com
*Provisional figures (2011)
