The average retail purchasing power in Europe is 6,517 euros per capita. However, there are significant differences between the 25 analysed European countries in terms of retail spending: At 12,067 euros per capita, Luxembourgers have the most money to spend in the retail sector. Romania, on the other hand, has the lowest retail spending potential. There are also strong regional differences within the respective countries. These are some of the results of the newly released GfK study on retail purchasing power in Europe.
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The inhabitants of the 25 European countries considered by the study have a total of almost 3.4 trillion euros at their disposal to spend on retail, which corresponds to an average retail purchasing power of 6,517 euros per capita. This puts front-runner Luxembourg, where people have 12,067 euros for retail expenditures, more than 85 percent above the European average. Switzerland and Denmark follow in second and third place. Closest to the average is Germany, where people have 6,667 euros available for their retail spending.
Filip Vojtech, retail expert in GfK's geomarketing department, explains: 'Compared to other European countries, Germany's retail spending is pretty average. However, if retail purchasing power is set in relation to general purchasing power, German consumers only spend a relatively small proportion of their net income on retail. The situation is similar in Switzerland and the United Kingdom. In many Eastern European countries, on the other hand, a significantly higher proportion of net income is spent on retail, in Hungary it is even more than half. This is mainly due to the fact that people in Eastern Europe have a lower income.'
GfK Retail Purchasing Power Europe 2023.
Retail purchasing power in Europe
Overall, 13 of the 25 countries have above-average per capita retail purchasing power. In contrast, 12 countries have below-average per capita retail purchasing power. Romania brings up the rear with 2,986 euros, which corresponds to just under 46 percent of the average.
However, there are also significant differences within European countries in terms of potential retail spending. A look at the regional distribution in the United Kingdom, for example, shows that retail purchasing power in the western part of London is twice as high as the national average and is even 2.6 times higher than the last-placed region of Sunderland. In general, it can be observed that the regions in and around European capitals often have above-average retail purchasing power. In addition to the UK, this is also the case in France, Hungary and the Scandinavian countries, for example.
More information:
GFK
www.gfk.com