With growing concerns about the economy, job prospects and rising costs, South African consumers lost confidence in the second quarter of 2011 to an index level of 86, according to Nielsen’s quarterly online Global Consumer Confidence Survey.

Global online confidence declined to its lowest level in six quarters to 89 as economic recovery hit a stumbling block and recessionary jitters again reverberated around the world, according to Nielsen’s quarterly Global Online Consumer Confidence Survey.

Today, most FMCG categories (80%) are growing faster in rural as compared to urban India. This growing importance of rural India will also mean that competitors (both regional players and categories with a strong regional franchise) will influence marketing plans.

From still to sparkling, from flavored to fortified, there is something for every consumer of bottled water in Asia, catering to basic hydration as well as lifestyle needs.

While fewer than 20 percent of Asia Pacific mobile users currently have smartphones, interest in upgrading is high: nearly half of consumers intend on buying a smartphone in 2011, according to Nielsen research.

After a year of solid economic growth, Filipino consumers entered 2011 on a high note: GDP in 2010 grew at the fastest rate in 34 years, unemployment declined and inflation rates were under control.

With inflation and the cost of food, fuel and other basic necessities taking a bigger share of Vietnamese consumers’ wallets, it might not seem to be the best time for the country’s banks to think about expanding.

The first quarter of 2011 started off slowly, with nominal value rising 2.3 percent across Europe, a slight decrease from the fourth quarter of 2010.

Global advertising rose 8.8 percent year-on-year in Q1 to total USD 118 billion based on published rate cards, as advertisers spent more on television and continued to invest in booming consumer Asian and Latin American markets.

In a sign of how times are changing, one-quarter of household shoppers in Indonesia are now men, according to Nielsen.