U.S. Indicators Worse than Any Country's Except Spain and Germany, says Nielsen
Three of the top GDP countries (Germany, Italy and Spain) show weakening economies while one country (Canada) shows improvement, according to a scorecard of consumer behavior in Nielsen's new Economic Current, which consolidates key consumer data from The Nielsen Company's global research resources.
Nielsen's scorecard ranks national economic performance on a scale of one to five, with one representing very strong growth (over 5%). According to this scorecard, India and China were the only countries that scored a one in January 2009, while Canada and Russia scored twos (growth between 1% and 4%). The United States scored a four, which was worse than any other country except Spain.
The scorecard summarizes detailed findings from the recently launched Nielsen Economic Current (NEC), which taps into key consumer trend data from Nielsen's consumer practice as well as a set of economic data including employment and inflation to create a concise overview. Nielsen created the NEC as a tool to aid its global clients in their business planning.
Download the most recent Nielsen Economic Current scorecard here.
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The NEC, which includes 11 of the top 12 GDP countries, launched with data from December, 2008 and January, 2009 to set baselines and track these indicators over time. The scorecard provides a quick assessment of which countries are growing or declining. Further drill down data reflects country-specific information on eight key factors including:
- Nielsen's Market Index - Value
- Nielsen's Market Index - Volume
- Move to store brands
- Shift to value channels
- Retailers' use of promotions
- Frequency of Consumer shopping trips
- Consumer spending per trip, and
- Nielsen's Global Consumer Confidence surveys.
Additional findings from the current release show:
- In January consumers in the U.S. reversed a six month trend of declining number of shopping trips and spending per trip.
- Consumers in both the U.S. and Canada spent more per trip across fast moving consumer goods (FMCG)
- Consumers in the U.S. and Canada sought value through store brands and discount retailers.
- Western Europe also saw an uptick in the number of shopping trips
- Store brands and Value channels remain strong
'Consumers drive two-thirds of GDP in developed economies and in these volatile economic times, the Nielsen Economic Current is a pulse on business tied to consumer behavior,' said James Russo, Vice President Marketing for The Nielsen Company. 'Our clients want to know if global economies have bottomed out and if things are ready to improve. The NEC shows that in some regions we may be reaching the bottom, which is necessary before the turnaround begins. However these are uncharted waters and we maintain a high degree of concern. Nevertheless, we are confident that Nielsen will be in the forefront of understanding the changes in consumer behavior and what companies need to do to succeed.'
Jonathan Banks, Business Insight Director for The Nielsen Company in Europe, added, 'so far we've seen that the consumer behaviour expected by some, such as a rush in to cheaper private labels, buying more products on promotion, and shopping in the discount channels, together with a reduction in volumes, has not materialized in many markets. Whilst a lot of households are cutting down on expensive purchases such as holidays, and delaying the replacement of their cars, food is only around 15% of household expenditure in developed countries. So when it comes to consumer packaged goods, for many of us, it's 'business as usual'. People still need to eat and whilst parts of the restaurant trade may be suffering, many of us are switching from having a 'big night out' to a 'big night in' with food being an inexpensive treat.'
