Besides the familiar chain stores, some independent retailers still do business here, despite the high rents. Mabel Gundlach spent a day here for Made in Germany and asked customers and dealers about the apparent consumer slow-down.

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It’s nine o’clock in the morning, and the Schildergasse pedestrian zone in central Cologne is just waking up. A few hours later, the crowds will have arrived. The Schildergasse is the busiest shopping street in Germany.

But for now, it’s still fairly quiet. A few people have headed to the traditional café Riese to wait for the stores to open. We're here to test consumer confidence, a couple seem like the right people to ask: "I’d like to buy a nice jacket and I'll probably shop around, I’ll go to a few different stores and I don’t mind if I end up having to go back somewhere." The café itself certainly looks busy. People surely don’t tend to save their pennies when it comes to their daily bread – or do they? We ask Gisela Claren, who’s been working here for twenty years: "People do ask how much things cost, which they never did in the past. And they buy less. We have noticed a change."

The Schildergasse dates back to Roman times. During the Middle Ages, it was home to artists who painted coats of arms. Today, it’s a commercial hub.

It’s midday, and this shoe store is filling up. This young lady is visiting her grandparents. What brought her to the Schildergasse, we ask: "You can find whatever you need, it’s all here. The shops here are great." Can you afford much? "Well sometimes my grandparents have to help out."

40 euros for a pair of shoes is a bit more than a mother intended to spend. She doesn’t tend to buy herself much – she spends much more on her son: "I don’t mind spending money on things that are important, like the right shoes. I can save a bit with the rest of his clothes, because he grows out of them so quickly anyway."

It’s one in the afternoon. These buskers have found the perfect spot. They’re too busy to spare any time to answer our questions – providing some entertainment to people taking a short break from shopping. There are few independent retailers left in the Schildergasse. Rents are high, and the well-known chains have taken over. This clothes store opened three years ago. None of the staff are willing to give us an interview, but we do find out that the store managers are satisfied with turnover. They haven’t noticed any decline in consumer spending. And true enough, the shoppers don’t look like they’re worrying too much about their bank balance. But these are clearly well-heeled customers. Maybe they’re not representative of the general public.

It’s half past five, and we make a quick stop in a high-end store that sells nothing for under one thousand five hundred euros. A wristwatch from here could set you back several hundred thousand euros. So is anyone spending that kind of money these days, we ask the manager: "Customers are still willing to treat themselves to a few luxuries that they know they will enjoy. In that respect we haven’t noticed any change. " Who are your customers? "It varies. It ranges from young people to regular customers who have been buying here for over nine years. They like to see the same people here in the store. But they range from young to old, casual to very smart. If you spend a day here then you’ll see."

After a day out and about in Cologne, we get the feeling that some consumers like their luxuries as much as ever – but others less fortunate are having to tighten their belts.