Consumers in the most buoyant economies are cutting back on weekly shopping bill more than their peers in the economically depressed US and Europe, according to Nielsen, the audience measurement and consumer tracking company.
The findings, part of a survey that shows record numbers of consumers have no spare cash left for discretionary spending, appear to undermine hopes that Asian shoppers will fuel multinationals’ profit growth and help rebalance the global economy.
According to the survey, which questioned 26,000 respondents, 79 per cent of Asians cut their spending to save on household expenses in the fourth quarter of last year. That compares with 62 per cent of Europeans and 65 per cent of North Americans.