Increasingly affluent consumers have become more discerning about where they spend their money and have expanded the types of goods they buy. In short, “one size” shopping no longer works for many consumers, and retailers are adapting to win a bigger share of wallet.

The recession was a wake up call to a new conscientious consumer, where spare cash is low and prices are high. Three key trends are defining the new Canadian consumer marketplace.

The number of Malaysians accessing the Internet hit 41 percent in 2010, a 15 percent increase over the previous year, according to The Nielsen Company’s Mobile Insights Survey.

It’s a new era in Indonesia: global capital markets have recovered significantly since the financial crisis of 2008, and in 2010 the GDP grew 6.1 percent and GDP per capita hit US$3,000, according to the IMF World Fact Book.

The significant emotional burden caused by the events at the Fukushima power plant in Japan ignited the attention of Italians who will soon be called on to express their opinion towards nuclear power in a June referendum. In 1987, Italian citizens voted to abolish nuclear power after the Chernobyl nuclear power disaster, but the government wants to return to it.

The proliferation of the Internet, social networks, smartphones, tablets and branded in-store and mobile contact points in Italy are presenting increased opportunities to build successful relationships with the consumer, and Italian consumers are increasingly taking advantage of their multi-channel options.

A recent Nielsen global survey of 26,644 online consumers across 53 countries explored the music industry’s toughest questions: how to optimize marketing and how maximize revenue in a digital and increasingly mobile world.

As the advertising recovery gained momentum in the first half of 2010, there were substantial year on year increases in activity particularly among the major spending categories that were most impacted by the advertising cutbacks of 2009; including Motor Vehicles (+14%), Finance (+13%), Real estate (+19%), Communications (+12%) and Insurance (+12.8%).

Indonesian consumers have proven themselves to be optimists. Throughout the economic turbulence that started in 2008, Indonesians remained confident and positive about the country’s economic outlook according to Nielsen’s Consumer Confidence Index.

Consumers from lower and middle SELs shop more frequently than others and contributed 65 percent of the total increase in Brazilian consumption. These groups – which combined make up about 59 percent of all consumers – are now playing an important role in the future of the economy.