Consumer Outlook Glum in US, Ad Markets Overseas Thriving
The economy sucks, too many people don’t have jobs and the word “recovery” seems like a dream ever out of reach. So it’s no surprise that consumer attitudes are quite down in the U.S., according to Nielsen. What’s a company looking to grow to do? Look beyond the 50 states.
The Nielsen Market Index Volume and Value for the U.S. are both “neutral” (between -1 percent and +1 percent). For the question, “Are consumers moving to Store Brands?” the second-quarter “Consumer Scorecard” was also in the neutral zone.
For the question, “Are shoppers shifting to value channels?” the answer was also neutral. However, for the question “Are retailers selling more on promotion?” the answer was “growth” (between +1 percent and +4 percent).
Consumers in the U.S. are shopping less frequently, as the question, “Are consumers hopping more frequently?” was met with “negative” (between -1 percent and -4 percent).
“Are consumers spending more per trip?” was met with a neutral answer, while the Nielsen Global Consumer Confidence for the U.S. was negative.
Consumers continue to hold back their spending in the U.S., despite increased promotions.
The picture was slightly rosier in the second quarter in other countries. One noticeable trend was the “very strong growth” (>= +5 percent) observed in virtually all major foreign markets, including France, Germany, the U.K., Italy, Austria, Switzerland, Brazil, Mexico, Taiwan, Hong Kong, India and China.
“Longer term, with 30 of 31 countries showing positive ad spending in the in the 2nd quarter of 2010, global consumer spending may receive a boost in the back end of 2010 and 2011 as consumers remain focused on promotional activity,” Nielsen notes.
According to eMarketer and Starcom MediaVest Group, the economic slowdown sped up the shift of ad dollars to digital media in China, India and Brazil. The Middle East and Africa will grow 11.4 percent this year, faster than any other major region.
The report forecasts that the Asia-Pacific region will pass North America as the largest advertising market “soon after 2014,” when it will reach $173.2 billion in ad spending.
Total global online ad spending is expected to grow 12 percent to $62 billion this year, and by 2014, online will account for 17 percent of total media spending, according to eMarketer.
Ad budgets were trimmed down in 2009, but consumers in the U.S. and Canada increased their consumption of media, especially online and via mobile phones.
Sources:</strong
http://blog.nielsen.com/nielsenwire/consumer/the-state-of-the-global-consumer-spending-trends/
