North American consumer confidence was on the rise in second quarter 2016, as globally it remained flat. Nielsen’s second quarter Consumer Confidence Index reading for North America was up three points from first quarter to 111, while globally it stood at 98. Up two points from the same period in 2015, global confidence levels have hovered between 96 and 99 in the three years since first quarter 2014.
Nielsen’s Consumer Confidence Index measures perceptions of local job prospects, personal finances and immediate spending intentions, with levels above and below a baseline of 100 indicate degrees of optimism and pessimism, respectively.
“Global economic growth continues to be sluggish, with wide variation in growth rates,” says Louise Keely, senior vice president, Nielsen, and president of The Demand Institute. “Economic concerns such as weak commodity prices and job prospects, and political concerns, such as terrorism and political stability, have been higher among consumers in countries directly affected by situations such as terrorist attacks and soft commodity demand. Still, in many markets consumer spending continues to be a bright spot. Consumer confidence, while below 100 in many countries, has remained stable, on average, over the past several quarters.”
Of the 63 individual countries surveyed by Nielsen in the second quarter, 12 reached or exceeded a score of 100— the Philippines, India, Indonesia, U.S., Denmark, United Arab Emirates, Vietnam, China, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Peru and Thailand. The U.S. had a consumer confidence score of 113, marking 10 consecutive quarters in which the U.S. score was at or above the optimism baseline.
Read more on Nielsen’s findings here.