Store, or private label, brands have seen their popularity grow in the U.S. and Europe as retailers have improved the quality and breadth of offerings to appeal to consumers watching their money more carefully.   Once known for being simply cheaper – and not as good – alternatives to name brands, private label products have been one of the bright spots for retailers in an otherwise gloomy economic environment.  The shift to private label has also attracted Australian consumers, and recent research from The Nielsen Company has found that such products …

According to the latest Nielsen Global Confidence Survey conducted in the second half of June, Australians are seeing encouraging signs of economic recovery with strong consumer confidence levels and optimism about the state of their finances and willingness to spend over the next 12 months.
Australia ranked fifth of the 28 markets Nielsen measures, just behind fast-growing developing countries Indonesia, India, the Philippines and Brazil, and well ahead of other developed nations.
Forty-four percent of Aussies believe “now is a good/excellent time to buy the things they want,” second highest of all …

Although Australia’s economy may have technically avoided entering a recession, almost two-thirds of Aussies believe that it has, and consumer confidence has plummeted to an all-time low.  Concerns about job security and personal finances have led Australians to change the way they shop, with a focus on value.  Like consumers in Europe and North America, Australians are trying to stretch their dollars further: they are eating out less, entertaining and cooking at home more often and buying more private label goods. 
These changes present a range of challenges for retailers and …

Update: Watch James Russo discuss back to school sales on CNBC’s “Closing Bell.” [ video - requires Windows Media Player]
The middle of summer marks the beginning of the Back to School (BTS) season, as parents and kids across the country start to prepare to return to class rooms in late August and early September.  The excitement of school starting isn’t just felt by the kids – retailers also look forward to the season, as it’s an incredibly important time for the $2.5 billion office/school supplies category.  Additionally, with the economy mired in a …

As consumers continue to tighten their wallets, product manufacturers are feeling the pinch. Add higher costs for health care, energy and raw materials to the equation and many manufacturers are forced to cut costs to maintain sales and profitability.  But if there is one overarching message for manufacturers, it’s this: do not pull back on innovation or marketing support.  Nielsen research reveals that brands that continued to invest in these areas during a downturn performed significantly better than their peers once recovery takes hold.
Nielsen looked at more than 100 client engagements …

Two of the “Big Three” U.S. automakers have gone bankrupt.  Car sales continue to decline.  This would appear to be the most challenging period for the automotive industry in its history.  But despite the gloom, there are some bright spots for auto makers, according to new research from The Nielsen Company.
The re-designed Forester boosted sales for Subaru, while Hyundai and Kia launched new models appealing to younger drivers.  Existing models, such as the Sorento and Sedona posted strong sales growth (69% and 48%, respectively).  And Lincoln was the only U.S. …

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” …

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 …

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 …

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 …