Consumers unsettled: This is how the Ukraine war is affecting consumption - the effects are already being felt

Created: 02/25/2022 05:09

The escalating Russia-Ukraine conflict is also having an impact on consumers.

Concern about high prices dampens the joy of consumption.

Munich – It will probably take even longer before lively life returns to the pedestrian zones.

The effects of the pandemic and the escalating Russia-Ukraine conflict* - Putin has now invaded Ukraine - are slowing down Germans' willingness to buy.

This is the result of the current study by the Nuremberg market research company GfK.

As a result, the recovery in the consumer climate originally expected by market researchers at the beginning of the year has not materialised.

Ukraine war and pandemic: Consumption is slowed down

Initially, the lifting of the corona restrictions indicated that the economy “can recover noticeably,” says GfK consumer expert Rolf Bürkl.

The simplification in shopping would have aroused the expectation that consumers would become more willing to spend again.

"But that has now been shattered because inflation is now becoming even more of a focus and the political crisis will also affect consumers." The expert estimates that the inflation rate will remain high, which will even increase if energy prices rise sharply due to the war between Ukraine and Russia.

Germany's dependence on energy supplies is enormous, as the

shows.

Around 40 percent of the oil consumed here is imported from Russia.

In the case of gas, the share is even 55 percent - and the trend is rising.

If there were no gas deliveries, this would have massive consequences for consumers.

These could be felt directly in the living room, since according to the data from 23 degrees, to which the

refers, 48 ​​percent of the apartments are heated with gas.

Consumers are protected: Even if there is a war in Ukraine, gas supplies are secured

However, consumers do not have to prepare themselves for freezing months, says Timm Kehler, managing director of the industry association Zukunft Gas, to Tagesschau.

Heating customers are given special protection by law and are given preferential treatment for gas deliveries even in a state of emergency.

Gas from other source countries such as Norway or the Netherlands and (the more expensive) liquid gas were sufficient.  

Effects on the consumer are probably unavoidable.

Economics Minister Robert Habeck (Greens) has already warned that gas prices are already rising - recently he spoke to Maischberger about the consequences of the Ukraine crisis.

At the same time, the federal government has also promised relief - particularly important for lower incomes.

Ukraine crisis: gas more than twice as expensive per household

, a model household is already paying

around 2,600 euros per year for a newly concluded contract - more than twice as much as twelve months ago.

How much the prices will rise depends on how Russia's war against Ukraine develops.

Purchasing power falls to its worst level in ten years

According to GfK consumer expert Rolf Bürkl, the weak consumer behavior is reducing purchasing power, which in turn is causing consumers' income expectations to drop to their worst value for more than a year.

According to the experts, the consumer climate now depends on whether the price increase can be buffered and whether politicians actually lift the pandemic measures.