An Insight into German Lifestyles 23/6/00 A recent survey of 2,460 Germans by GfK, using its Euro-Socio-Styles standardised consumer typology, provides some interesting information on current consumer trends. The survey, which allows for a comparison with 1995 data, reveals three important consumer trends at play in German society: Firstly, shopping for pleasure has gained tremendously in importance for many Germans as a diversion from the daily routine. 35% of those questioned in 1995 claimed to engage in shopping for pleasure, this figure has now escalated to 62%. The pleasure principle is particularly prevalent in the Optimists target group, identified by the Euro-Socio-Styles research. This group includes young and middle aged hedonists who are optimistic about the future. Secondly, since 1995 there has been a trend in Germany towards increasing consumer price sensitivity. As incomes have not risen in real terms in recent years, consumers are unwilling to relinquish a particular standard of living and are, therefore, trying to compensate through price. This is at the cost of quality and is very evident in the product choices of three of the target groups identified, Upright, Isolated and Safety Oriented. All these belong to a rather conservative mind set. Thirdly, materialism seems to have lost out to personal development in Germany. Whereas in 1995, materialism was important to 48% of survey respondents, this has now dropped to 37%. Personal development, in conjunction with more leisure time, instead of success and money are characteristic of the attitudes shown by the Formalists, Architects and Referees target groups. All these have a highly developed ethical awareness, a sense of commitment and the will to change society. GfK Euro-Socio-Styles is a pan European lifestyle typology aiming to provide a complete picture of the consumer and his or her daily life. As well as demographic and financial information, data on value systems, behaviour, habits, opinions and emotions are collected. This has made possible the precise definition of consumer target groups. The system has been incorporated into all GfK consumer panels, offering opportunities to analyse the link between the attitudes and actual consumption of homogenous target groups.