title: “German Fashion Consumers Prioritise Fit and Value as Spending Slows” seo_description: “The GermanFashion Consumer Panel 2026 finds fit, comfort and value dominant in purchasing decisions, while channel usage falls and second-hand platforms gain among younger shoppers.” seo_tags: [“GermanFashion”, “consumer behaviour”, “fashion spending”, “second-hand”, “sustainability”, “Germany”] seo_slug: “german-fashion-consumers-prioritise-fit-value” source_url: “https://www.worldfootwear.com/news/german-fashion-consumers-prioritise-fit-and-value-as-spending-slows/11768.html”

German Fashion Consumers Prioritise Fit and Value as Spending Slows

German consumers are becoming more restrained in their fashion spending, but their choices remain strikingly consistent: fit, comfort and value for money dominate, while sustainability, though valued, takes a back seat to more concrete product attributes. Those are the headline findings of the GermanFashion Consumer Panel 2026, commissioned by the fashion association GermanFashion and conducted by market research firm INNOFACT.

The study, which compares behaviour with a 2022 baseline, shows that good fit is now the single most important purchase criterion, cited by 96% of respondents. It is followed closely by comfort and convenience, both at 95%, and by good value for money. Clothing quality is another major consideration, named by 90% of consumers.

“Fit, comfort, value for money and quality remain the most important criteria for selecting clothing. Consumers continue to make very rational purchasing decisions, focusing primarily on the concrete benefits of a garment,” explained Justus Lebek, President of GermanFashion.

For brands, product quality remains central to credibility. Consistently high quality was identified by 66% of consumers as the most important factor in establishing brand trust, ahead of keeping promises and presenting an authentic image. Sustainability, while relevant, is less influential than these fundamentals: although 71% consider avoiding the exploitation of workers in producing countries to be important or rather important, such concerns generally remain secondary to fit, quality and price.

Second-hand fashion is gaining a foothold, particularly among younger consumers. Although traditional resale channels have declined somewhat since 2022, brand-operated second-hand platforms are on the rise. GermanFashion notes that around 9% of consumers now predominantly or frequently use these services — a signal that resale is becoming an integrated part of brands’ distribution strategies rather than a fringe activity.

The panel also points to a broader slowdown in consumption. The average number of channels used for shopping fell from 4.3 in 2022 to 3.4 in 2026, a decline that spans both physical and digital channels and suggests consumers are simply spending less overall rather than merely shifting where they buy. Physical stores, however, remain a leading source of information and inspiration, with nearly three in ten consumers turning to local clothing stores for trends and product discovery.

Younger shoppers are the exception to the trend of shrinking channel use: they engage with significantly more shopping and information channels and move more fluidly between physical and digital environments. For footwear and apparel brands, the takeaway is clear — win on fit, quality and value, treat sustainability as a supporting claim rather than a headline, and meet younger buyers where they already are.

Source: World Footwear (worldfootwear.com), reporting on the GermanFashion Consumer Panel 2026.