When is it worth buying something?
A study investigated this question in more detail.
The price fluctuations of consumer goods over the course of a year are sometimes considerable.
Due to the fluctuating prices of consumer goods over the year, consumers in this country lose a lot of money.
This is the result of a study by the bank
Barclays.
The study examined the price fluctuations of 300 goods in 2022, as reported
by Tagesschau.de
.
According to the analysis, in 2022 there was an average difference of 8.5 percent between the cheapest and most expensive month of the consumer goods examined.
These price fluctuations correspond to a total of 43 billion euros or “a little more than 1,000 euros per household”.
Price fluctuations for many products and services
If you look at all the products and services that are also used to calculate inflation - for example rent, electricity and gas or groceries - the amount is even higher.
According to the study, the maximum price fluctuation here was even more than ten percent.
This corresponds to an effect of around 200 billion euros or around 5,000 euros per household.
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According to the study, those who buy at the right time can save a lot of money on certain products.
© R. Rebmann/Imago
Study: When are the cheapest months for which purchase?
"Price fluctuations can become a problem, especially when purchases cannot be postponed," said Tobias Grieß, CEO of Barclays' European retail business, according to the statement.
With the right timing, however, consumers could often save money when shopping.
The study also looked into the question of when the chances of a cheap price are particularly good and evaluated the consumption and price development data for the years 2015 to 2022.
According to the analysis, January was “most often the cheapest month” for household and garden items, fashion, and cars and car accessories.
In the case of electronic items, on the other hand, the picture is “very diverse”, as the statement says.
"Statistically speaking, e-book readers and PC accessories were cheapest in the spring months from March to May."
Home theater systems and audio equipment such as headphones had "their best months between June and September."
Monitors, printers and laptops were "most often cheap in autumn".
For TV sets, game consoles and digital cameras, the chances of a good price were high, especially in December.
Since the price fluctuations determined relate to average prices, the possible savings potential for consumers is often even higher, as the report on the study goes on to say.
The difference between the cheapest and the highest possible price of a product in the course of the year should "significantly exceed" the determined average value.
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How much do average prices for fashion, garden or electronic items fluctuate?
According to the analysis, the prices of fashion items, for example, fluctuated by 11.1 percent over the course of 2022, followed by products for the home and garden at 9.1 percent, and cars and car accessories at 7.8 percent.
According to the study, it is also worth buying electronic items such as digital cameras, e-book readers or televisions at low prices.
Average prices here fluctuated by 7.1 percent over the course of the year.
List of rubrics: © R. Rebmann/Imago