EDEKA Neighborhood Barometer 2022: Young people in particular want more togetherness

Anonymous coexistence or harmonious coexistence? A friendly greeting in the stairwell, joint celebrations, small talks over the garden fence or mutual support – everyone has a different idea of ​​what a good neighborhood means. Especially in the currently globally turbulent times, the neighborhood is becoming an increasingly important place of social cohesion and solidarity. With the representative “EDEKA neighborhood barometer 2022: The coexistence of generations”, EDEKA is highlighting the importance of neighborhoods in Germany for the third time. In addition, this year’s survey provides an insight into the extent to which neighborly interaction also takes place across generations and how the different generations are committed to one another.The core results (1) at a glance. What makes a good neighborhood?As in previous years, for most of those surveyed, good neighborliness is characterized in particular by help and support. As in the previous surveys, “A friendly interaction with one another” and “Short conversations” follow in second and third place.

• Younger people (18 to 29 years old), but also 30 to 49 year olds, would like to look after each other’s children and/or pets (30%), cook together or drink coffee (almost 30%)
• As in the previous year, neighbors mainly meet on the street (84%), in the house (53%) or when shopping (34%)
• 22% use online portals to meet and network with the neighborhood Results of the special topic “The coexistence of generations”: How will the different generations live together in 2022?
• Almost half of all Germans find neighborly interactions between the generations important to very important (46%)
• Two thirds of those surveyed already experience support between the generations. However, a third would like more intensive contact and more joint activities
• The older generations (50 to 70 years) are generally more satisfied with their contacts to other generations in the neighborhood than the younger ones. They contact their neighbors more consciously and offer their support in a targeted manner (47%)
• Young people (18-29 years old) would like to have more contact with other generations, but are not quite sure what to offer (23%) or are afraid to make the first step (24%)
• Gender difference: Men and women are roughly equally active across generations in terms of neighborhood activities

 

“Our approximately 3,500 self-employed EDEKA retailers are firmly rooted in their neighborhood. The families have often been running their markets for generations and therefore serve as role models for living together across generations. The fact that this is also increasingly desired by those surveyed is a welcome trend and is also reflected in our daily dealings with our customers on site,” says Markus Mosa, Chairman of the Board of EDEKA ZENTRALE Stiftung & Co. KG.

Regional comparison: How neighborly are the federal states and cities? (2)

 

• In the past year, the big cities, which tend to be considered anonymous, have come closer to the country in terms of neighborliness. In 2022, people in the city (100,000 inhabitants or more) were classified as more neighborly than in the country for the first time
• In a city comparison, Munich (123 points) rose from 4th place to the top. Last year’s winner Cologne slipped to third place (107). In between are Dresden (111) and Berlin (107). Stuttgart, still 2nd in 2021, drops to 8th place
• Thuringia (114 points) took over the top position after fourth place last year. Brandenburg can gain one place compared to 2021 and comes in second. This is followed by top 5 newcomers Berlin (107) and last year’s third place Saxony-Anhalt (105). Lower Saxony and Bavaria land together in 5th place

Cooperative EDEKA network rooted in the communities

The approximately 3,500 self-employed EDEKA retailers are committed to the local community every day. From their daily encounters with people, they know what it takes to strengthen the neighborhood together. They have been actively involved on site for decades, for example by supporting local day care centers, sports clubs, fire brigades and social institutions with (food) donations or by actively helping out. In order to obtain well-founded results about the neighborhood relationships of Germans, EDEKA has been conducting the EDEKA neighborhood barometer since 2020. Further detailed information on the study as well as all results, including graphical representation, are available at: neighborhood barometer.edeka .

(1) The information presented is based on an online survey carried out by the EDEKA headquarters in cooperation with the market research institute Gelszus rmm Marketing Research GmbH. This represents a follow-up survey of the study from the years 2020 and 2021. This year the topic “The coexistence of generations” was examined in more detail. The population-representative survey included 3,044 participants from 30.03. until 04/19/2022.

(2) The neighborhood ranking is made up of four dimensions: attitude towards the neighborhood, actual assessment of the neighborhood, personal contribution to the neighborhood and framework conditions for neighborhood engagement.