invasion and inflation
Shopping differently: How the Ukraine war changed shopping
“Consumer behavior on the back burner”: The Ukraine war and inflation unsettle many consumers and influence their purchasing behavior
© Jörg Carstensen / Picture Alliance
Daily shopping presents consumers with major challenges. Because of the Ukraine war and inflation, many things are becoming more expensive. It’s good if you know tricks that make shopping a little cheaper.
Shopping at discounters more often, avoiding expensive branded items and paying more attention to special offers: the Ukraine war and the rapidly rising prices for many products have changed the shopping behavior of many people in Germany within a few weeks. This is shown by current surveys and data from market researchers.
“Households react very quickly when the general conditions change significantly,” said retail expert Robert Kecskes from the market research company GfK of the German Press Agency. “That was the case with the pandemic, and it’s the same now with the Ukraine war and the high inflation rate.” People are unsettled, many feel that their freely disposable income is shrinking and that is having a significant impact on their shopping behavior.
Grocery shopping is changing significantly
In a recent study, the Cologne retail research institute ECC speaks of “consumer behavior on the back burner”. According to ECC, almost two thirds of people (64 percent) want to save more when shopping in the near future. Larger purchases would be postponed. And, of course, savings are also made when shopping for groceries.
Here the incision is even particularly noticeable. Because the food trade was one of the biggest winners of the Corona crisis. During the pandemic with its lockdowns, Germans had spent a considerable part of the money they could not get rid of in restaurants, bars or on vacation trips in the food trade. People treated themselves to something and more often resorted to more expensive products. It’s over.
Now we look at the cent again. And the figures from market researchers and surveys by trade researchers show which strategies consumers are relying on. “People are creative and find solutions to maintain their standards without having to spend a lot more money,” says Kecskes.
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Saving measure number one: Compare more prices and shop more special offers. According to the ECC survey, almost two-thirds (61 percent) of consumers now pay more attention to prices than they used to and use special offers more often. “People are also becoming more careful again that they don’t buy too much so that nothing has to be thrown away,” observes Kecskes.
Saving measure number two: Avoid expensive branded items. According to the ECC survey, almost half of consumers (48 percent) are currently doing without expensive brands more often – and instead prefer to use the cheaper own brands of retail chains. “We’ve been observing this switch more and more frequently in recent months,” confirms GfK expert Kecskes.
Teaser image: Getty Images / Minerva Studio
“Manufacturers of high-quality branded goods will have to struggle in the food trade over the next few months. In view of the tight budgets, low and medium-priced brands will gain in importance,” says Martin Fassnacht of the WHU business school in Düsseldorf. This applies in particular to retailers’ own brands if they offer customers added value – such as organic or regional origin.
“Many people will only buy the essentials”
Saving measure number three: Shopping at the discount store. “The supermarkets primarily benefited from the corona crisis because people wanted to do something good for themselves during the pandemic. This indulgence phase is now over. Now it’s time for the discounters again,” Fassnacht is convinced. In fact, according to figures from GfK in March, numerous consumers turned their backs on the more expensive places to shop, such as specialist shops and supermarkets, and preferred to do their shopping at Aldi, Lidl and Co.. The market share of discounters is growing again after a long time, according to at the GfK.
Saving measure number four: abstinence from consumption According to the ECC survey, furniture purchases in particular were postponed as a result of the Ukraine war, but a third of those surveyed were also hesitant to buy new fashion and electronics because of the war. “Many people will only buy the essentials. People are hoarding their money,” says Fassnacht.
Industry insider Kecskes is convinced that many consumers will not ignore the lack of consumption in the food trade either. In view of the increased costs, less meat is then eaten or a spoon less coffee powder is put in the filter. The wine merchants are already complaining about a noticeable drop in sales.
“The current developments are a shock for many consumers. People had just hoped that everything would go back to normal after the pandemic – and then the war came and with it the feeling of their own powerlessness again,” says Kecskes. “That increases the fears and we see that clearly in the buying behavior.”