Global consumer confidence shows slight increase

Recording an index score of 97, this represents a more upbeat start to the year following a slight dip at the end of last year, when all regional confidence scores declined.

Regionally, consumer confidence increased one point to 107 in Asia Pacific — the highest quarterly index score — while North America remained at 106. Confidence in the Middle Eastern/ African region rose by one point to 96, and Europe saw the same one point increase to 77. In Latin America, confidence decreased two points to 86, the region’s lowest score since 2011.

The Nielsen Global Survey of Consumer Confidence and Spending Intentions polled 30,000 online consumers in 60 countries.

“While confidence across global regions remained relatively stable in the first quarter, there is considerable variation across different markets,” said Louise Keely, senior vice president, Nielsen, and president, The Demand Institute.

“In the first quarter of this year, the key emerging markets of Brazil and Russia saw large declines in confidence for the second consecutive quarter, with the drop in oil prices and the political instability in Brazil. China dropped another index point at the start of this year, which comes after a four-point decline in the previous quarter, reflecting the recent slowdown in GDP there.”

Full results can be found here.