The Corona pandemic and the measures taken to contain the virus have severely affected consumer sentiments in April. Incomes and the propensity to buy are in free fall, while economic expectations have suffered only moderate losses. Consequently, GfK forecasts for a historical low of -23.4 points for May 2020; 25.7 points less than in April (revised 2.3 points). These are the findings of the GfK consumer climate study for April 2020.
The survey took place in the first two weeks of April. This was the first time that consumers felt the full impact of the containment measures, such as school and shop closures, production shutdowns and lockdowns. The consumer climate is currently in free fall. A value of -23.4 points is unprecedented.
Crash of the consumer climate
"In view of a largely frozen economic environment, this unprecedented collapse of the consumer climate comes as no surprise. Retailers, manufacturers and service providers must prepare themselves for an imminent, very severe recession," explains Rolf Bürkl, GfK consumer expert. "As it is now becoming apparent that the easing of measures to contain COVID-19 will be very slow for reasons of caution, the consumer climate is also likely to face difficult times in the coming months."