Survey: Call for More Corporate Responsibility in India

Indians are increasing their expectations of what companies should be doing with respect to corporate social responsibility (CSR) according to the latest Nielsen India Corporate Image Monitor.  CSR can be an effective way of building goodwill for a company, and survey respondents most admired Reliance Industries, the nation’s largest conglomerate, Tata Motors and Tata Steel.  These companies are most closely associated with promoting education, improving healthcare infrastructure and promoting environmental consciousness.

According to the survey, half of respondents said that better healthcare infrastructure is the top social issue that they believe corporations should tackle, followed by fighting diseases such as HIV/AIDS, malaria, TB and cancer (38%) and education and adult literacy (30%).  Furthermore, 86 percent identified “countering terrorism” as a CSR initiative that should be taken up by corporate India.  Environmental protection is now expected and no longer identified as a CSR initiative by respondents.

More than half of respondents felt that corporations are honest toward their CSR activities, while one-third are skeptical of the motivations behind CSR, believing them to be simply publicity stunts.

“The public’s expectations of companies are on the increase as stakeholders see the significant impact they are having in various spheres, be it in educations, healthcare infrastructure or environmental conservation.  Their confidence in organizations undertaking socially beneficial projects is greater than their confidence in other channels that try to bring about positive social change,” said Vatsala Pant, associate director, consumer research at Nielsen.

The Nielsen Corporate Image Monitor is an annual survey of 1,800 people from a range of occupations in the top seven metropolitan areas.  Stakeholders range from the general public to media and policy makers.

The Iran Election and Social Media: The New News Revolution

Analysis by Emily Luger, Nielsen Online
The Iranian election is yet another watershed moment in the ongoing evolution of news and media, further blurring the lines between being, reporting, and following the story. In the two weeks since the controversy and conflict surrounding the election, a number of insights have emerged about how the Internet and social media continue to be a transforming force for the News industry. Initial Nielsen analysis of search results provides some conclusions, while others areas beg additional probing.

Findings from an  Internet snapshot from June 18, 2009:

• CNN rarely shows up in the top five search results for select Iran Election terms, mirroring criticism from consumers that the global news network’s coverage of the Iran Election was lacking (#CNNFail).
• Wikipedia emerges within the top two search results for 4/5 of the leading topics.
• At least one social media source emerges within the top 10 search results for every term. In most cases, the social media sites emerge directly above a traditional, major news source, such as WSJ.com.

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Russian Consumer Confidence Stabilizes

For the first time in eight months, Russian consumers’ confidence has stabilized after posting significant declines, according to Nielsen’s ongoing “Russians through Crisis” study.  In the second half of 2008, consumer confidence stood at 104, dropping to 88 in November 2008 and hitting a low of 75 in March 2009.  In May, confidence recorded an uptick to 82.

As with consumers around the world, job security and personal finances are the key concerns for Russians today.  Almost three-quarters of those surveyed characterized the security of their jobs as “not so good” or “bad,” while 81 percent characterized their personal finances the same way.  While these results were not positive, they showed no further signs of pessimism over previous months.  More than half (54%) of Russians said that their family income has declined over the past three months.  Given these sentiments, it is not surprising that 78 percent of Russians felt that it was not a good time to buy the items they want or need.  Discount and hypermarket retailers were the preferred destinations for Russian shoppers, as they switch to channels that can provide better value.

“Russian consumers seem to have overcome the shock of discovering that one of the world’s fastest growing economies is not recession-proof.  Consumer confidence is bottoming out, but the key question remains the duration of the bottom and when Russians will be ready to loosen their belts,” said Dwight Watson, managing director, Nielsen Russia.

Summer seems to be the season of optimism for Russians, with 19 percent of respondents saying they plan to by a travelling tour, and equal number saying they plan to purchase furniture.  Computers and mobile phones were the next most popular items for purchase.  Meanwhile, 37 percent of those surveyed said that they had no plans to make any major purchases.

“Russians through Crisis” is an integrated research project aimed at tracking and analyzing consumer confidence and purchasing behavior in the rapidly changing Russian economic environment.  More than 500 people were surveyed in key Russian cities, including Moscow, St. Petersburg, Novosibirsk and Nizhiniy Novograd.

Despite Drop, UAE Consumers Still Confident

Consumer confidence around the world has been falling as the ongoing recession is causing more people to worry about their jobs and cut household spending.  And although residents of the United Arab Emirates share those concerns, they rank in the top ten of the most optimistic countries of the 52 studied by Nielsen.  The UAE scored a confidence level of 89, compared with other regional neighbors such as Saudi Arabia (79) and Egypt (74).  Globally, Indonesian consumers were the most confident, with a score of 104, followed by the Danes (102) and Indians (99).

“Job security is the biggest concern for UAE consumers.  However, despite uncertainty levels tripling over the last six months, we are still among the top 10 countries with a comparatively higher perception of local job prospects.  More than one in three UAE consumers perceives their prospects as good or excellent over the next 12 months,” said Piyush Mathur, regional managing director, Middle East, North Africa and Pakistan at Nielsen.

In comparison, about a quarter of global consumers described their job prospects as bad in the coming year, with Latvians being particularly pessimistic - 78 percent responded negatively.

“Job concerns reflect in consumer spending habits.  For instance, consumers in the UAE are now tending to keep their spare cash in savings and using it to pay off their debts.  They are controlling discretionary spending, especially on clothing, entertainment outside the home and technology upgrades,” said Mathur.

Consumer Spending Uptick Shows ‘Green Shoots’ of Economic Recovery

Global consumer spending appears to be on the rebound, driven by sales gains in China, India, the U.S. and Canada in April, another indication that the global economy may be stabilizing as consumer attitudes and confidence turn up. For the first time in four months, since the creation of the Nielsen Economic Current (NEC) scorecard of consumer behavior, a monthly report from The Nielsen Company, none of 10 major GDP countries showed declines in consumer activity compared to the previous month.

“Although consumers are still not shopping as frequently, we are seeing a turnaround in spending as shoppers spend more money per trip,” said James Russo, Vice President, Global Consumer Insights for The Nielsen Company. “There continues to be the emergence of optimism worldwide, and this upward trend in spending across four leading economies is further evidence that the ‘green shoots’ of economic recovery are finally breaking through. We expect to see even more forward momentum as we look to the second half of 2009.”

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New Zealand Feeling Financial Crisis Fatigue

In a poll that surveyed more than 25,000 people worldwide, Nielsen found that New Zealanders were among those getting most bored of media coverage regarding the global recession, with more than a quarter of Kiwis polled saying that there was too much coverage.

Although 40 percent said that the media did a poor job of informing them of the issues that led to the crisis, 52 percent say that the media is now helping them to better understand the issues at play while 23 percent said that they were let down by the media.  Another 25 percent were ambivalent.  A similar number (53%) thought that they were getting good information from the media about the steps governments were taking to address the economy, while 20 percent thought that more information was needed.

The views of New Zealanders largely echoed those of others in the Asia Pacific region, which were generally less critical of the media than Europeans and Americans.  In North America, 51 percent of those surveyed said that media coverage leading up to the crisis was inadequate, while 48 percent of Europeans thought the same.  The Swiss were the most fatigued by media coverage - 42 percent were tired of reading about gloom and doom - followed by the Dutch (41%) and the Irish (38%).

Despite Recession, Chinese Still Eager To Travel

While Chinese consumers may be cutting back in some areas as a result of the economic downturn, one area that is not taking a hit is travel.  According to the latest China Outbound Travel Monitor from Nielsen, 85 percent of Chinese travelers said that they “definitely” or “probably” will travel outside the country at some point over the next 12 months.

“Even under current financial pressures, the Nielsen China Outbound Travel Monitor shows that the Chinese travel market continues to boom and is likely to grow further.  The interest lies not only among the experienced traveler, but also among novice travelers.  This should serve as a boost of confidence to the travel industry,” said Dr. Grace Pan, Head of Travel and Leisure Research with Nielsen China.

Short haul trips, such as those to Hong Kong (the most mentioned place to visit), Macau or Taiwan, were the most popular, with more than 60 percent of travelers intending to visit those destinations.  Thanks to a recent agreement that allows Mainland Chinese to travel to Taiwan in groups, Taiwan showed the greatest increase in interest.  In 2007, just three percent of respondents said they planned to visit Taiwan.

“Historic ties with Taiwan - a destination that has not been an option for many years - make it a destination of much interest to Mainland Chinese, and we expect to see tremendous growth potential for travel to Taiwan in the years to come,” said Dr. Pan.

Top Planned Destination Countries

* Note: multiple answers allowed

Promotions Spur Growth In UK Grocery Sales

UK grocery sales grew 5.1 percent in the 12 week period ended May 16^th, largely due to the record number of products on promotion according to new research from Nielsen.  Morrisons continued the solid performance it has been exhibiting over the last few months with sales growth of 7.9 percent over the same period a year ago, while Asda and Sainsbury also posted gains of 7.4 percent and 7.3 percent, respectively.

“With a record of 32 percent of all sales being goods on offer in the four weeks to May 2009, retailers recognize that they need to show good value for money as a fundamental shift in consumer behavior has taken place over the past few months.  At face value, this will be good news for Asda, Tesco and the other discounters, but it is also an opportunity for all other retailers to get a bigger share of wallet of the recession-struck shopper,” said Mike Watkins, Senior Manager, Retailer Services at Nielsen.

% Share of Grocery market Spend, 12 Weeks Ending May 16, 2009

Egyptians Want To Work For Vodafone

Wireless companies were the leading choice of employer for Egyptians, with Vodafone taking the top spot, according to a landmark survey by Nielsen.  The Nielsen Ideal Employer Survey, the first of its kind in Egypt, was based on more than 700 face-to-face interviews.  Coming in second place was the Orascom Group of Companies, a conglomerate comprised of construction, hotel, technology and wireless operations.  Mobinil and Etisalat, also mobile companies took third and fourth place, with the Commercial International Bank rounding out the top five.

The most attractive functions identified by survey respondents were human resources (HR) and public relations (PR), while sales was the least popular.  Males identified IT and marketing as preferred departments, while females wanted to work in customer care, administration or PR.  Both genders ranked HR as an attractive function.  The top three sectors were IT/telecom, banking and finance, and oil and gas.

“Businesses need to better understand and map the needs and expectations of employees in such a competitive and dynamic market,” said Hany Mwafy, Managing Director for North Africa for Nielsen.  “This information will help companies retain and attract top talent, a critical factor to being successful in this challenging time.”

The interviews were based on broadly structured questionnaires and covered employees of varying seniority levels and functions.  Males comprised approximately 80 percent of the sample, and showed a higher concentration in sales, while females had a greater representation in the media sector.  The survey was conducted in partnership with Wazayef Masr, Egypt’s leading employment-related newspaper.

Sales Of Non-Prescription Meds Ailing In Recession

Almost half of consumers around the world say that the recession is changing how they buy non-prescription medications. Some (12%) say that they will use less of them, while others are switching to natural and traditional remedies.  According to a major new study from Nielsen, how consumers self-medicate and choose non-prescription medications varies widely by region.  For example, more than half of Europeans tend to look to their pharmacist for advice on which products to use, while only 13 percent of Americans do the same.

Most consumers said that they would continue to purchase non-prescription medications, although they may switch to cheaper products or use them less frequently. Americans, Germans and Scandinavians all indicated that they would be looking for less expensive products.

Overall, the survey highlights the importance of understanding local consumer needs, as regulatory, distribution and marketing framework vary greatly by country, and cultures have different approaches to what products they use and how they buy them.  Manufacturers that understand these nuances are better positioned to successfully ride out the recession and maintain some level of growth.

Read the full article about Nielsen’s landmark study of the global non-prescription medication market in the current edition of Consumer Insight.