Consumer market update Germany, 2022, Q3
How businesses can adapt to behavioural change
The atmosphere within the consumer markets in Germany has been tense lately. Strong inflation, the energy crisis and ongoing conflicts in Ukraine worry employers and employees in equal parts. They have a strong impact on consumer behaviours and company practices, while the pandemic has since become a by-product everyone is used to living with.
Especially within the retail landscape, companies face huge challenges in finding suitable marketing and sales specialists. This sector has lost a huge deal of attractiveness ever since the pandemic hit.
“A big part of the workforce has undergone a process of re-orientation.”
A workforce re-orientation
A big part of the workforce has undergone a process of re-orientation – out of necessity. These economic developments plus the Ukraine war and pandemic did not only transform the labour market in general but also led to employees questioning their status quo in terms of work-life-balance. About two thirds of the population in Germany sharpened their view on their personal and professional goals.
A clear increase in vacancies
Despite those critical prognoses, we see a clear increase in vacancies. 93% of companies in Germany are planning to recruit roles in the near future, about half of those for new roles and 43% for replacements or new placements. We notice a need for specific marketing and sales profiles in the market – yet we experience seemingly empty markets on the candidate side. This shows the enormous transformation the labour market and now employers are seriously considering their hiring plans and aim to recruit in a targeted manner.
The countertrend on sustainability
Where there has been a strong trend towards sustainability, we now experience a countertrend since inflation has been picking up lately. Companies such as Etsy, Zara and Farfetch form innovative and progressive examples towards recycling within the consumer goods industry. However, concerns regarding the economic situation do have clear impacts on consumer behaviour.
“A vast majority of people have not been willing to spend more money for sustainability matters.”
Over the past year, the percentage of consumers spending money on sustainable products or accepting higher prices for those has halved. In 2021, this figure would have been at 67% whereas today it is only at 30%. Nevertheless, experts are expecting this percentage to rise again once economic forecasts move up.
The importance of the employer brand
In those crises-prone times, it is ever more important for companies to strengthen their employer brand, providing an anchor to hold on to. Employers need to make employees and their needs a priority. We are seeing younger employees less committed to their employers than the more senior workforce.
“Employers need to make employees and their needs a priority.”
Today, more than ever, the decision-making factors of candidates are clearly defined, and the expectations of professionals are increasing if you want to attract and retain these candidates in the long term. Transparent communication within the framework of a structured and efficiently designed recruitment process is an important starting point. Unfortunately, this area is still often lacking, so that candidates are already lost in this early phase of recruitment.
If you have any questions about this article and if you need support hiring or finding the right role for you, contact Anna or somebody else from our specialised team of recruitment consultants.
References:
www.presseportal.de
Monster Insights HR Report 2022: Trends im deutschen Arbeitsmarkt | Presseportal presseportal.de pm/31973/5155044
Monster Insights HR Report 2022: Trends im deutschen Arbeitsmarkt | Presseportal
Monster Insights HR Report 2022: Trends im deutschen Arbeitsmarkt | Presseportal
Arbeitsmarkt-Trends: Was wird 2022 wichtig? (t3n.de)
Hohe Inflation: Verbraucher geben weniger für nachhaltige Produkte aus (wiwo.de)
