Growth in New Product Launches Despite Stagnating Investment

The Austrian economy continued to experience a period of decline in 2024, with economic policy uncertainty remaining high and exerting a negative influence on investment momentum. The uptick in expenditure on new products and services in 2023 appears to have had a favourable impact on the proportion of companies launching new products in 2024, with the share increasing to 25.8 percent, though it remained below the pre-crisis level. Concurrently, planned expenditure on new product launches for the following year has reached a new low, reflecting companies' scepticism about the future business situation.