“After nearly two years of downward trending, we are now seeing an uptick in Canadians’ moods as the notion of recovery is taking hold,” said Carman Allison, Marketing Director, The Nielsen Company. 

Almost 40 percent of Canadians said that local job prospects will “good” or excellent” over the next 12 months, compared to just 23 percent of Americans.  More than half (52%) characterized the state of their personal finances the same way, edging out Americans, 48 percent of whom felt that way.   More than a third (37%) said that the next 12 months was a good time to buy the things they need or want.

That said, Canadians will continue to save spare cash: 30 percent said that they’d put that money into savings, 11 percent said they would invest in retirement funds and another 40 percent indicated that they would pay off debts.  But after those expenses, the Canadian consumer’s wallet seems to be thawing out a bit: almost a quarter (23%) indicated that they were spending on out-of-home entertainment, and the same percentage said that they were spending on vacations.  Another 21 percent said that they were buying new clothes.  And once recovery in full swing, Canadians want to resume buying technology upgrades and replacing major household items.

Read the full report on Canadian consumer confidence.

Chinese consumer confidence is higher in the East and North regions of the country versus the South and the West, and consumers in smaller cities (i.e., not Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou or the provincial capitals) are generally more confident than those in the largest cities.

“Chinese consumer confidence appears to have been boosted successfully through the government’s economic stimulus initiatives.  Additionally, many consumers in smaller cities appear to have been less affected by the downturn in the first place, so recovery is less of an issue for them,” said Mitch Barns, Greater China President, The Nielsen Company.

Half of Chinese surveyed said that local job prospects will be “good” or “excellent” in the next 12 months, compared to only 22 percent three months ago.  Nearly half of Chinese consumers described their personal finances as “good” or “excellent,” and more than 40 percent indicated a strong willingness to spend.  Saving for a child’s education continues to be a priority, with 42 percent saying that they would use spare cash for education.  Residents of the largest cities, however, indicated a greater desire to invest in the stock market or go on holidays versus residents of smaller cities.

“In this latest survey, we have increased the number of people that we interview so that we can now, for the first time, look at these data by region and by city tier.  The results are fascinating and it makes this an even more useful, insightful survey,” said Barns.  “China is a dynamic and diverse market.  By zooming in on regions and city tiers to take a closer look at Chinese consumers, we can more clearly see where the opportunities are within the country – and there are many.”

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 nations surveyed, and 59 percent described their personal finances as good or excellent.  According to Nielsen Online’s Buzzmetrics service, the number of online discussions mentioning the word “recession” dropped 56 percent between February and June this year.

Despite growing levels of optimism among Australian consumers, there remains an air of caution, with 41 percent saying that they would put extra cash aside in savings and another 40 percent focused on paying off debts.

“Despite increasing confidence, Australians will still think twice about the way they spend their spare dollars until the economy has completely recovered.  The positive news is that Australia, when compared to other developed nations, is in a better position for faster economic recovery,” said Chris Percy, Managing Director – Consumer Group, Nielsen Pacific.

Read the full press release with more results from the survey.

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 take that vacation they put off, go back to casual dining and increase out of home entertainment activities such as movie going.”

In April, 56 percent of consumers said they were spending less on new clothes. However, only 22 percent said they would continue to do so with an economic recovery predicted by year’s end.

More than half (53 percent) also cut down on out-of-home entertainment, still only 20 percent said they planned to maintain this behavior. And, while 45 percent of respondents shied away from take away meals, only 24 percent plan on avoiding these more expensive meals moving forward.

Still, consumers clearly indicated that they would remain focused on savings past the recovery. “A whole new value system has emerged,” said Russo. “One of casual restraint. There is a focus on fiscal responsibility and budgeting, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t a market for indulgences. I don’t mean diamond jewelry, but moderation will be key and you may see consumers begin to trade up and move back to mainstream retailers.”

One behavior that will not change as drastically is trying to save on gas and electricity. Slightly more than half of respondents (51 percent) said they did so in April. Forty percent of consumers said they would continue to keep an eye on such services. The same holds true with the telephone company with 34 percent currently acting with restraint and 21 percent looking to do so moving forward.

Nielsen conducted a similar study in October and it proved telling. From Oct. 2008 to April 2009, consumers across 15 behavioral segments followed through on their plans to cut back on discretionary purchases while increasing levels of savings. For example, in April, most of the 40 percent of consumers who said they would delay upgrading technology followed through with their promise. More than a third (34 percent) said they’d use their car less-29 percent ended up doing so. And 33 percent said they’d cut down on vacations and delay replacement of major household items. In both instances, 34 percent of consumers actually did.

The Vietnam News Agency Bulletin reported Wednesday that the country ranked ninth in Nielsen’s recent survey of global consumer confidence.

The same study showed that Vietnam’s inflation rate climbed to 26.8% in June — compared with a rate of 8.3% a year ago.

“Although inflationary pressure will directly impact consumer behaviour within some product and service categories, mid-to long-term prospects in Vietnam are still very encouraging,” Aaron Cross, Managing Director of Nielsen Vietnam, told the Agency Bulletin.  “Most of our clients in Vietnam continue to enjoy very strong growth and are increasing their investments based on strong consumer demand.”

View Nielsen’s global consumer confidence report.