Europeans set store by refurbishment

House alterations and refurbishment continue to rank in second place when Europeans are asked what they intend to spend money on in 2015. On average 37 per cent of Europeans cite these proposed items of expenditure, with only travel and leisure ranking higher at 54 per cent in the representative consumer survey “European Consumer Barometer 2015” carried out by Commerz Finanz. The purchase of tools and garden equipment comes fifth with 24 per cent.
Approval ratings in both categories vary significantly between individual countries, but topping the list in both is Great Britain (49 per cent with regard to house alterations/refurbishment and 34 per cent for the purchase of tools and garden equipment).
What is striking is that the procurement intentions in both categories are distributed much more uniformly across the different age groups than in other product categories. Approval ratings for house alterations/refurbishment range from 34 per cent (18 to 30 years) to 39 per cent (31 to 45 years). On the purchase of tools and garden equipment the ratings vary between 19 per cent (over 60 years) and 28 per cent (31 to 45 years).