EDITORIAL

Given the unrelenting succession of crises affecting the planet – whether they relate to health, politics, geopolitics or inflation – there’s one word we thought might have disappeared from our vocabulary: enjoyment. And yet… 

And yet, happily and encouragingly, Europeans cite the term “enjoyment” before any other when it comes to defining their consumption. At a time when the inevitability of global warming and the solutions being touted in order to curb it have created something of a dark cloud above our heads, this positive, not to say hedonistic, attitude confirms that consumerism has by no means gone out of fashion, even if consumption patterns have shifted. 

Nonetheless, as you will soon discover in this latest edition of L’Observatoire Cetelem, this enduring sense of enjoyment has been shaken by economic and budgetary realities, ongoing frustration and feelings of guilt about the “right way to consume”, all of which serve to muddy the picture in myriad subtle ways.

What’s more, the increasing tendency for consumption to be steered towards services and non-material items has translated into differences between the behaviours of the younger and older generations, and between low-income and wealthier households, whether by choice or by necessity.

Be that as it may, why deny ourselves the joy of observing that consumption can provide Europeans with more than just material satisfaction?

Flavien Neuvy
Head of L’Observatoire Cetelem