Asia-Pacific Home To The Biggest Spenders And Savers

If it stands to reason that economies don’t develop at the same rates, then it should follow that the consumers in those economies also experience fluctuations to their confidence in larger markets. It should also follow that the countries that have seen impressive growth over the past few years have the most enthusiastic citizens.

On the whole, that’s what Nielsen’s most recent report confirms. The Nielsen Global Survey of Consumer Confidence & Spending Intentions Q4 2015 found that consumers in the Asia-Pacific region demonstrated the highest levels in both the intention to save and spend their spare cash. In total, 61 percent of Asia-Pacific consumers said that they intend to save their surplus funds, while 37 percent said they would invest it. Moreover, Asia-Pacific consumers led every other region in the desire to spend on products in categories as diverse as apparel, travel, entertainment, electronics and home improvements.

In fact, Nielsen could find only two saving or spending preference categories in which Asia-Pacific did not lead the world in intent. Latin America took the crown for the desire to pay off debt, with 35 percent of consumers expressing such a wish as opposed to Asia-Pacific’s 23 percent, good enough for fourth place after North America and Europe, respectively. Asia-Pacific consumers also matched the enthusiasm of their North American counterparts (16 percent each) on their plans for retirement, as both region’s aging populations demonstrate increased interest in providing for the future.

While Asia-Pacific consumers are doing their part to keep spirits high around the table of global commerce, it doesn’t appear that it’s enough to turn the tide on decreased confidence. The Nielsen report found that global consumer confidence fell by 2 percentage points to 97, erasing what little gains retail had made throughout 2015. However, while the average may be down, 26 of the 61 markets studied showed an increase to consumer confidence – a 43-percent silver lining.

The report additionally found that 47 percent of consumers believed they were in recession. And, while 47 percent is still a sizable metric, the figure represents a record low in recessionary sentiment (since the firm began tracking it in 2008).

As for consumers who said they were actively striving to save on household expenses, five strategies stood out from the rest in at least one of the regions studied. Those strategies included: spending less on new clothes (with 56% in Europe identifying this as a method to save); cutting down on out-of-home entertainment (identified by 53% in Latin America); trying to save on gas and electricity (identified by 50% in Latin America); cutting down on take-away meals (identified by 48% in Middle East/Africa); and switching to cheaper grocery brands (identified by 49% in Europe).