The current results of the consumer climate index from the GfK Institute and the Nuremberg Institute for Market Decisions (NIM) show that consumer sentiment has deteriorated significantly compared to the previous year. The consumer climate index for the forecast for September has fallen by 3.4 points from -18.6 to -22.0 points. The consumer climate is suffering primarily from the collapse in income prospects.
A slight increase in Propensity to save by 2.7 points is also putting pressure on consumer sentiment. “It seems that the euphoria that the European Football Championship triggered in Germany was only a brief flare-up and disappeared after the end of the tournament. In addition, there are negative reports about job security, which are making consumers more pessimistic again and making a quick recovery in consumer sentiment seem unlikely,” explains Rolf Bürkl, consumer expert at NIM. “Slightly rising unemployment figures, an increase in corporate insolvencies and plans to cut staff by various companies in Germany are causing a number of employees to worry about their jobs. Hopes for a stable and sustainable economic recovery must therefore be postponed further.”
The Income expectations falls by 16.2 points to the value of 3.5 points. A larger decline in income sentiment within a month was last measured almost two years ago in September 2022, when private households suffered significant losses in purchasing power due to inflation rates of almost eight percent. Propensity to buy has fallen by 2.5 points to -10.9 points. This value is around six points higher than in the same month last year. Economic outlook fell by 7.8 points to 2.0 points.
