German consumer sentiment improves slightly heading into holidays, survey finds

Consumer sentiment in Germany is set to improve slightly in December as households show more willingness to spend money ahead of the holiday season, though less rosy income prospects are preventing a stronger recovery, a survey showed on Thursday.

The consumer sentiment index, published by the GfK market research institute and the Nuremberg Institute for Market Decisions (NIM), rose to -23.2 points for December from -24.1 points the month before, in line with analysts’ expectations.

Overall sentiment was boosted by a 3.3-point rise in consumers’ willingness to buy for a second month in a row, bringing it to the same level as a year earlier at -6.0 points. A 2.1-point dip in their readiness to save also helped.

“Consumer sentiment is currently at almost exactly the same level as last year. This is good news for retailers with an eye to year-end business: The data points to stable Christmas sales,” said Rolf Buerkl, head of consumer climate at NIM. “On one hand this shows a certain stability in consumer sentiment but on the other hand, it shows that consumers do not expect a drastic recovery in the short term,” he added.

Households’ economic expectations for the next 12 months fell nearly 2 points month on month, to -1.1 points, but were still 2.5 points higher compared with last year’s level. Germany’s economy is expected to grow by only 0.2% in 2025 after two years of contraction as Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s spending measures need time to translate into better conditions.