This is NOT what Germans would buy with a lottery win

With a lottery win of tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands or even millions of euros, the doors are wide open for the purchase of many beautiful things. A study initiated by the EuroJackpot, which focuses on recording unpopular investments from lottery winnings, has produced some interesting results: yachts, works of art, beauty surgeries and other ‘classics’ are out!

If you win a lot of cash in the lottery, you are at best financially secure and can afford what the majority of the German population is denied. This is undoubtedly a great thing and the main reason why lotteries are still the most popular games of chance in Germany. In fact, well over 100 new millionaires are made every year in this country through lotteries. Sometimes - especially with very large sums - serious personal problems arise in the long term, which is why the lottery companies recommend the use of an official lottery winning counsellor to provide tips on how to handle all that money safely. For most lucky people, however, the effects of winning a jackpot are less dramatic. For them, the biggest challenge is figuring out what to do with their new wealth.

The latter is also the subject of a survey conducted by the Hamburg-based market research company Appinio on behalf of the Eurojackpot lottery. However, instead of asking the typical question about the purchases with the greatest ‘want-to-have’ factor, the survey takes a completely opposite approach: ‘What would Germans NOT buy if they won the jackpot?’ is the key question. Would you go under the knife for beauty or treat yourself to a luxury boat in the Mediterranean? In fact, many of these seemingly common ‘dreams’ are far less popular than you might think.

This is what the EuroJackpot investigation is all about

The EuroJackpot lottery wanted to find out which investments are rather unpopular when it comes to winning millions. To this end, a study was set up together with the market research professionals from Appinio, in which 1,000 test subjects were asked what they would rather not buy as millionaires. The starting point was the assumption of winning 115 million euros in the EuroJackpot.

The survey was conducted online via Appinio's in-house mobile panel, where participants were given the opportunity to express their disapproval in seven categories - from ‘designer clothes’ to ‘yacht’. The survey period spanned four weeks, or the entire month of January 2024, with people aged between 18 and 65 taking part. Both women and men were involved. In terms of demographic characteristics, there were some interesting peculiarities in the responses, as will be explained in more detail below. According to Lotto.de, the results are representatively weighted by age and gender.

Plastic surgery is really out

• By a clear margin, most respondents ruled out cosmetic surgery as an investment when winning millions. 38 per cent said that they would not have such procedures carried out.
• Owning a yacht and works of art were the second and third least popular investments for a big lottery win, with 14 per cent each.
• Other surveys have already shown that Germans do not like to invest their money in risky businesses. It is therefore no wonder that investment in start-ups follows just behind yachts and works of art with 11 per cent.
• Designer clothing is only slightly less rejected at 10 per cent. You might think that women at least are clearly below average here and tend to favour expensive clothes. However, this is not the case - as many as 12 per cent of female participants are against investing in fashion.
• The least aversion was to luxury cars with 8 per cent and the pool villa with only 6 per cent.

Bodo Kemper from Eurojackpot commented on the results as follows:

‘Ideals of beauty are conveyed to us everywhere in everyday life, casting shows and influencers thrive on the trend towards self-optimisation - and yet a great many people would have better things to do with a jackpot win than to have changes made to their bodies. Apparently, Germans are quite happy with their appearance. And instead of paying the plastic surgeon for a sports car, they would rather buy one themselves.’

Different preferences for men and women - and what younger and older respondents prefer

The study was also split according to certain demographic characteristics. Let's first look at the trends for men and women:

• Men were even more clearly against cosmetic surgery than women. The ratio was 36 to 40 per cent.
• It is interesting to note that men are apparently even less opposed to investing in designer clothing than women - 7 to 12 per cent.
• The trend from fashion is also evident in works of art - 12 per cent of men would not invest their money in this area under any circumstances, whereas 16 per cent of women would say ‘no’.
• Start-ups are less critical for women - only 9 per cent are against them, while 12 per cent of men would not support them.

And what about age differences in preferences and anti-preferences?

• The differences are clearest when it comes to cosmetic surgery: among respondents aged between 18 and 24, only 30 per cent are against it. Beyond the age of 55, the rejection rate is highest at 43 per cent.

Conclusion

Image source: https://pixabay.com/photos/portofino-sea-coast-liguria-italy-7504460/ + Screenshot von https://www.lotto.de/ueber/neuigkeiten/eurojackpot/2024/pressemeldung-eurojackpot-20240417