Despite a more positive outlook among European consumers, their spending habits remain largely unchanged from the previous quarter, with many continuing to implement savings strategies. Forty-three percent of respondents to a recent McKinsey survey said they had maintained the amount they spent compared with the previous three months, senior partner Jessica Moulton and colleagues note; this proportion is just 3 percentage points higher than at the end of the second quarter. As they had three months ago, a third of consumers indicated they were still carefully tracking expenses and dipping into savings to cover needs.
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Three sets of stacked vertical bar graphs—representing, from right to left, spending, income, and savings—show changes in European household finances. Each bar represents responses during a particular quarter, from Q3 2023 to Q3 2024. For spending, the percentage of respondents reporting an increase dropped from 44% in Q3 2023 to 39% in Q3 2024, while those reporting a decrease dropped from 22% to 18%. For income, the percentage reporting an increase hovered at about 17%, and the percentage reporting a decrease dipped from 28% to 23%. The most notable difference is seen in savings reductions, where the percentage reporting a decrease fell from 51% to 44%, while the percentage of respondents reporting an increase rose from 10% to 12%.
Footnote: Question: How have the following changed over the past 3 months?
Source: McKinsey ConsumerWise EU-5 Sentiment Data (France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and UK), Aug 2024, (n = 5,094).
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To read the article, see “An update on European consumer sentiment: Steady spending over the summer,” September 9, 2024.