While global consumer confidence continues the slow but steady climb upward from the lows experienced in the first quarter of 2009, consumer spending is following a similar trajectory.

Nielsen’s regional experts share insights on confidence, media trends, and what next for the increasingly diverse, demanding, and connected global consumer.

The latest version of Nielsen’s Economic current shows signs of recovery, specifically in markets like China, India, Hong Kong and Brazil.

A North American snapshot of Nielsen’s Global Economic Current finds the U.S. and Canada with improving consumer confidence, but still hampered by timid spending.

Global consumers are increasingly feeling confident about the economy and their finances. While Asia is leading the rebound, signs point to improved consumer behavior in other parts of the world.

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

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, …

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 …