DES GB2015 Englisch

SHOPPING Consumer climate in Germany in points Source: GfK | EU-Kommission Germans are bracing themselves against external risks Most indicators reached their peak to date last summer and then dropped sharply. This ten- dency was especially marked where economic expectations were concerned: May 2015 saw them reach their peak for the year at 38.3 points. The second half of the year brought clear ev- idence of consumer sentiment cooling down. In November, the indicator dropped to -5.3 points. It has since regained its sta- bility and stood at 4.2 points in January. German consumers' acquisitiveness continues unabated as yet. While the indicator fluctuated gently over the course of last year, it now stands at 52.7 points, which is extraordinarily high. Conditions are ideal for good consumer sentiment: the stable employment situation gives con- sumers the financial security they need to plan ahead, and the fact that petrol and heating oil prices have nose-dived leaves them with more money to spend on other things. Since the inclination to save is still languishing in the depths and the ECB's present policies are not going to revive it, spending whatever money is left over on high-end goods and services has a greater appeal than saving it. The soaring consumer sentiment of the first half of 2015 was suddenly brought much closer to earth from the summer onwards, when nearly all consumer climate indicators fell one after another – some of them quite sharply. Behind this development lay the worsening refugee crisis, the increased threat of terrorism and the poor perfor- mance of emerging economies such as Russia, Brazil and – in particu- lar – China. Now, though, consumer sentiment is stable again. While the potential dangers from outside Germany are obscured by the very good conditions within it, the consumer climate would without doubt become less favourable if consumers were again to feel insecure. 2015 2014 2013 2011 2012 2010 Propensity to Buy Economic Expectations Income Expectations 12.2014 01.2015 02.2015 03.2015 04.2015 05.2015 06.2015 07.2015 08.2015 09.2015 10.2015 11.2015 12.2015 60 40 20 0 -20 Consumer climate indicators in points 42 Deutsche EuroShop AG Annual Report 2015 20112012

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