Wuppertal, January 2014 - (fpr) Between August and September 2013, the Nuremberg-based Society for Consumer Research (GFK) conducted a comprehensive survey of german consumers' views on trends, not just in the wallpaper market, on behalf of the Wuppertal wallpaper manufacturer.
 
The representative findings of the survey, last carried out in this form in 2005, show interesting developments. As the GFK established, consumers in almost all European countries perceive shopping as being increasingly tedious. At the same time the focus on quality continues to increase, a significant factor for a quality brand like Erfurt.
 
There is a considerable upward trend in expenditure noted, above all, in the Hardware and Home & Garden sectors. While online expenditure in the non-food sector is recording constant double-digit growth, the 10.2% share of the DIY/Gardening sector represents a below-average percentage of total expenditure, compared with other sectors. 17% of all expenditure in the non-food sector is due to the Home & Garden sector.
 
The target group of LOHAS (Lifestyle of Health and Sustainability) is of particular importance to Erfurt, as a wallpaper manufacturer, as this target group attaches significant value to the environment and sustainable products, and continues to grow strongly. Particularly against the background that younger purchasers of wallpaper up to the age of 35, are on average less well informed about the plasticisers, harmful to health, contained in wallpapers (75% of these purchasers have heard nothing about it up to now), it is especially important for Erfurt to communicate the naturalness and healthy-living features of its woodchip and wallpaper products more intensively in future than it has done to date. This is all the more true, as regardless of from whom wallpaper is bought and whether a professional is called in to do the decorating work, in 91% of all cases the purchasing decision is made by the buyer himself.
 
53% of those surveyed state that they would opt for a woodchip wall covering in future. The Wuppertal-based family-owned company holds the trump cards, whichever kind of wallpaper the buyer opts for. Our 61.3% prompted brand awareness amongst decorators is unmatched and, once again, an improvement on 2005 (nearest competitor: 20.4%). The 28.3% unprompted brand awareness of the Erfurt brand amongst users of wallpaper is again higher than in 2005 (26.9%). Our nearest competitor has an unprompted brand recognition of 5.8%.
 
Retailers, DIY stores and trade stores are therefore well-advised to use a brand in future that continues to have a very high level of brand recognition amongst consumers and decorators.