A global survey of consumer confidence released today shows that European consumers are generally pessimistic about the economic outlook for the next 12 months, people in the Asia-Pacific are optimistic and Americans lie somewhere in between.
The AC Nielsen report also found that, across the globe, concerns about the economy, job security and health generally outweighed worries about terrorism or war.
Forty percent of consumers in the Asia-Pacific think their economies improved over the past six months and 53 percent expect them to improve over the next year. Conversely, 48 percent of Americans and 40 percent of Europeans believed their economies had deteriorated over the past six months. However, 43 percent of Americans expected an improvement in the next 12 months, compared to just 31 percent of Europeans.
"I would expect continued caution in Europe, where there are structural and economic issues as well as concern about growth rates," said Frank Martell, president of AC Nielsen Europe. "Lots of European governments are bringing down their growth rate forecasts."
"If you look at the United States, it's clearly more encouraging," Martell added. "There's a lot of government stimulus, monetary and fiscal, and it looks much brighter."
In the Asia-Pacific, robust economic growth was adding to confidence after several months of concern sparked by the SARS crisis that killed more than 700 people and infected over 8,000, mostly in Asia.
Among the top 10 countries that are most optimistic about the next 12 months, the first eight were from the Asia-Pacific — followed by the United States and Norway.
Martell singled out China and India, where growth levels are expected to be high, as places to watch over the next 12 month.
"Clearly these two countries are emerging as the new powerhouses," he said.
Asked to list their biggest concern, a global average of 22 percent said job security, 21 percent said the economy and 15 percent said health. Ten percent said terrorism and just three percent said war.
The responses on terrorism and war varied according to region, however. While 18 percent of Americans and 13 percent of Europeans said that terrorism was their biggest concern, just 7 percent of people in the Asia-Pacific cited it as their main concern. Nine percent of Americans were most concerned about war, compared to just three percent in Europe and 2 percent in the Asia-Pacific.
The survey was the result of a random online poll of people in 28 countries across the Asia-Pacific, Europe and the United States. It is the first time the biannual survey has included Europe and the United States.
AP