Eurozone | A massive spending spree is coming, but not until 2022
We have revised up our forecasts for eurozone private consumption, and now envisage spending increasing 3.1% in 2021 and by a staggering 7% in 2022. Our forecast, which is well to the upside of consensus (3.7% and 4.5%), is based on our view that most of the restraint on spending has been forced by lockdowns rather than being a voluntary response to uncertainty.
What you will learn from this report:
- We expect consumption to return to pre-pandemic levels as early as mid-2022, boosted by pent-up demand in the later stages of the recovery.
- We think consumers will spend about one-fifth of their huge excess savings through to 2025, equal to around 3% of the annual consumer spend.
- Having amassed excess savings worth €500bn in 2020, households still face curbs on spending options due to prolonged Covid containment measures. So by early-2022, excess savings could reach €840bn – 13% of 2019 consumer spending.
Tags:
Related Services

Post
BoK’s monetary policy to tighten even as hiking cycle ends
Even without rate hikes, central banks' monetary policies can effectively tighten if the nominal neutral rate falls below the policy rate. We expect this will be the case for the Bank of Korea this year, as the gap between the policy rate and the nominal neutral rate widens.
Find Out More
Post
China: Emerging green shoots in Spring, but not out of the woods
We now incorporate a faster recovery from the post-Covid exit wave and raise our 2023 full-year GDP growth forecast to 4.5% (from 4.2% previously).
Find Out More