A survey by the Federation of German Consumer Organisations (VZBV) has helped to reveal both the impact of inflation on consumers as well as the attitudes of buyers towards making changes to their habits in order to combat climate change.
According to a report in Der Spiegel, 63% of German consumers said they currently spent less money on goods due to high inflation. In particular, 61% said they were buying cheaper groceries and 56% said they purchase less clothing. Fuel prices have also had an impact on habits, with a third of people saying that they are driving their cars less at the moment than they would have previously done.
The survey also revealed the attitudes of German consumers to changing their spending to help fight climate change. 75% responded that they would be happy to wear their clothes for longer rather than buying new ones and 60% said they would aim to buy energy-saving electronic devices. Perhaps most revealing, however, was that 60% of Germans said that if a device that they own were to break prior to its intended service life, they would seek to get it repaired rather than simply purchase a new one. With this in mind, the VZBV have said that the survey proved that “politicians and manufacturers are responsible for creating the framework conditions to enable consumers to consume in a climate-friendly manner”.
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