Consumers around the world are expressing more confidence about their personal financial situations, according to the most recent Nielsen Global Consumer Confidence Index.

With the nation seemingly emerging from recession, American consumers remain skittish about spending their money during this upcoming holiday season.

With an increasing amount of global buzz proclaiming the emergence of an economic recovery, the Nielsen Economic Current shows definite signs of renewed consumer confidence and sales growth in some countries.

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, …

James Russo, Vice President, Global Consumer Insights, discussed the latest Nielsen consumer research, touching on everything from Blu-Ray players to home canning, during a discussion of the changing American consumer on a recent segment on CNBC.

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 …

Consumers in 10 of the world’s top economies continued to be wary of spending their money in May, according to the latest edition of the Nielsen Economic Current, which provides a snapshot of global consumer and retail trends across 10 countries which represent nearly 65 percent of global GDP.  Tracking key performance indicators, Brazil and the U.K. led the pack with solid improvements in their scores, while the U.S. and Canada showed declines.  The rest of the countries tracked (China, France, Germany, India, Italy and Spain) showed no movement from …

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 …

First signs of how consumers will behave post recession.
Restraint will be the new mantra among consumers, according to the Nielsen Global Consumer Confidence Survey. But, that doesn’t mean they won’t start spending again in the near future.
Respondents to the poll conducted in April, across 50 countries making up 86 percent of the GDP, said they would continue to focus on fiscal responsibility. Yet, “they will allow themselves some of those little indulgences,” said James Russo, vice president, Global Consumer Insights. “Perhaps pent up demand will play itself out and they’ll …

Despite recent optimism about a turnaround in the global economy, consumer activity in the United States and China showed significant declines during the month of March. The change was led by a continued decrease in shopping trips and consumer transactions, according to the Nielsen Economic Current scorecard. The U.S. decline may be partially attributed to the Easter holiday occurring in March last year, while it took place in April this year. Similarly, the drop in China may have been affected by the Chinese New Year (a high sales peak), which …