Survey of the consumer centers: Almost two thirds limit themselves

High inflation is slowing German consumption. A representative survey shows which items are currently saving the most – and what else is changing in everyday life with the sharp rise in prices.

According to a survey commissioned by the Federal Association of Consumer Organizations (vzbv), 63 percent of consumers in Germany spend less money because of high inflation. Another 20 percent expect that they will have to cut back on their spending in the future. The newspapers of the “Funke Mediengruppe” report on the representative survey.

According to the survey, most people buy cheaper groceries (61 percent), less clothing and also consume less overall (56 percent each). A good third of those surveyed stated that they drove their car less often. Just as many are currently avoiding air travel or at least reducing it.

Less consumption for the climate?

At the same time, the survey came to the conclusion that most consumers are willing to change their own consumer behavior in order to protect the climate. 75 percent said they would rather wear clothes longer than buy new ones. 60 percent want to buy energy-saving electronic devices, another 45 percent want to have defective devices repaired instead of buying new ones.

Many people would therefore like manufacturers to provide binding information on the service life of devices. In the survey, consumers gave an average of twelve years as the expected service life for a washing machine, for example, ten years for vacuum cleaners, televisions and printers, and five years for mobile phones.

“Products must be repairable”

In order to promote resource-saving repairs, manufacturers should be obliged to provide binding information on the service life of the devices, demanded VZBV board member Ramona Pop. “Politicians and manufacturers are responsible for creating the framework conditions to enable consumers to consume in a climate-friendly manner,” she told the Funke newspapers.

“The right to repairs agreed in the coalition agreement is an important building block for climate-friendly and resource-saving consumption,” said Pop. That is why the coalition must deliver now. “It must be ensured that manufacturers design their products in such a way that they can be repaired. And of course, repairs must also be affordable and the costs must be within an economically reasonable range.”