For consumers in India, the quality of a mobile phone provider’s network is the most important factor when choosing a carrier, according to the latest edition of the Nielsen Consumer Experience Mobile Test Program.

Many economists believe that Asia has been at the forefront of the global economic recovery, and new research from The Nielsen Company indicates that in terms of advertising spend, the recovery is in full swing in a large part of the region.

Like shoppers around the world, consumers across Asia Pacific have become focused on saving and reducing debt this year, and as a result, have become less inclined to spend on bigger ticket items and out-of-home-entertainment.

With hopes for a full economic recovery accelerating in 26 out of the 28 major global markets, consumers around the world might be expected to return to their previous spending patterns.

From June to August 2009, Indian companies launched 3,778 online display ad campaigns, and of those, 13 percent were from personals or matrimonial web sites, according to a new report from The Nielsen Company.

Nielsen’s survey of more than 18,250 affluent individuals across 35 Indian metro areas, initiated a new method of defining affluence.

Over the last decade, online travel agents (OTAs), such as Expedia, Orbitz and Travelocity, to name a few, have become a mainstay for Americans looking to research and book travel.  And now, Indians have embraced online travel sites as internet penetration continues to expand.  According to Nielsen’s India Online Travel Agent Study, 80 percent of Indians view these sites positively. Even those who hadn’t yet purchased travel with an online travel agent have checked them as part of their research and said that they would consider doing so in the …

The notion that the global economy may be on the verge of recovery has not yet translated into improved consumer spending or confidence, although consumers in the emerging countries – Brazil, India and China – seem to be more optimistic than others and are loosening their purse strings ever so slightly, according to the new edition of the Nielsen Economic Current.  Of the 12 countries Nielsen now tracks, all but Taiwan (which declined) showed no significant change in measures of spending.  Canadian, Western European and American spending was, at best, …

It used to be that if a mobile phone customer wanted to switch service providers, they had to give up their old phone number.  And if one had a particularly “good” number or had the number for several years, the inability to retain that number was a huge disincentive to switch services.  But several years ago, the ability to carry one’s number from carrier to carrier became a reality in the U.S., spurring greater competition among carriers.  And with mobile number portability (MNP) being contemplated in India, some consumers there …

Consumers’ hopes for an end to the Global Economic Crisis have been bolstered in the 2nd Quarter 2009, according to a Nielsen Global Consumer Confidence Survey released today. The Nielsen Global Consumer Confidence Index, conducted in 28 markets in June 2009, rose to 82 – an increase of 5 points (from 77) from March 2009 – spurred by renewed consumer optimism and stock market gains in BRIC markets (Brazil, Russia, India, China) and key Asian countries. [See full graphic for complete details]

“In the previous Nielsen Global Consumer Confidence survey conducted …