As many as 80 percent of Poles say they will limit their spending, with most saying this will cut purchases of electronic equipment or furniture, one expert tells Rzeczpospolita, cited by the Do Rzeczy news portal.
“Electronics are not products purchased regularly – unlike, for example, food or cosmetics. Phones, laptops, or refrigerators are bought once every few years. At a time when it is necessary to limit expenses, consumers are starting to avoid replacing equipment ‘just in case,’ if it still works,” explains the expert.
The newspaper notes that 36.6 percent of respondents plan to limit spending on furniture, while 35 percent will save by spending less on clothing.
Another 34.2 percent will cut back on construction materials, including finishing materials and tools. It’s no surprise that pharmaceuticals were cited by only 10.7 percent of respondents, given that these are more often than not an absolute necessity.
A previous report out of “Rz” indicated that less than one in five respondents expects their purchasing power to improve this year. “This is bad news for the economy because consumer demand is one of the main components of GDP growth in Poland,” it wrote at the time.
Poland has been battling high inflation, as well as layoffs, with Polish MEP Beata Szydło (PiS) calling recent job loss data a travesty for “thousands of Polish families, and what’s worse – it’s still only the beginning. It’s only going to get worse. Under Tusk, the Polish economy is reeling, industry is collapsing.”
Year-over-year inflation for May came in at 4.1 percent, the lowest level since June 2024. However, problems continue.
S&P recently called out the country’s rising deficit and public debt relative to GDP. “It’s not just defense spending, but also the legacy of the pandemic. Very generous social transfers to households and businesses are still present, especially when we talk about wages and pensions,” noted one analyst.
Meanwhile, Germany’s woes and wave of bankruptcies, which some are calling worse than the 2008 crisis, were already being felt in Poland last autumn. After all, with Germany being Poland’s biggest trading partner, bad news there is bound to continue putting pressure on Polish industry, jobs, and the economy overall. And that means Polish consumers may need to cut spending even more, which in turn, will put added pressure on Polish GDP.
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