Around 80 percent of Germans read Stiftung Warentest reports at least occasionally, and only 17 percent never do.
Two thirds say a negative verdict influences their purchase — 12 percent say definitely, 54 percent say probably. Only seven percent are unmoved by one.
The foundation was created by a decision of the Bundestag in 1964, and around 200 tests are published a year. A single graded verdict, issued by a state-founded body that takes no advertising, moves German sales figures.