Germans are still bookworms

March 12, 2010 - In spite of living in a digital age of computers and television, the reading of books remains one of the most popular leisure activities. The latest analysis from GfK Panel Services shows that some 36 million Germans bought books last year. And they did not stop at just one. Over the course of the year, every customer purchased 11 books on average, spending approximately EUR 110 in total. more >>

Demand in the tourism industry recovering

March 9, 2010 – Vacation demand has stabilized for the 2010 summer season in Germany and in the UK in particular, two of the largest tourism source markets in Europe. The greatest growth has been recorded for vacations in Turkey and Egypt. Additionally, cruises are currently popular across Europe. more >>

Internet shopping continues to gain ground in Germany

March 3, 2010 – Last year, German consumers spent around EUR 15.5 billion on goods and services online. Overall, e-commerce sales recorded a significant increase of 14%. These are the findings of the WebScope panel, through which GfK Panel Services Germany continuously surveys the purchasing of products on the world wide web. more >>

Western Europe’s Technical Consumer Goods Market improves slightly despite crisis

March 2, 2010 – In the fourth quarter of 2009, consumers in Western Europe spent almost EUR 55 billion on technical consumer goods, which means an increase of 0.5% compared to the same quarter of 2008. After three quarters of continuous but alleviating decline in 2009, the fourth quarter shows pleasing growth despite the crisis and many markets become positive. For the fourth quarter some of the major markets in Western Europe like Germany, France and Italy even encountered around a 4.0% increase. more >>

MRI and Media Behavior Institute Partner On New Consumer-Centric, Multimedia Measurement Offering

March 1, 2010 - Mediamark Research & Intelligence (MRI), a member of the GfK Group, and the Media Behavior Institute (MBI) today announced a strategic partnership with the goal of jointly launching a syndicated, consumer-centric, multimedia database that could transform the way media is planned, bought and sold. more >>