The weakening dollar and retreating US consumers makes international markets appear much more attractive for retailers and manufacturers who were previously skeptical about launching operations overseas. The Wall Street Journal reports that Boston Consulting Group’s analysis of world wide consumer behavior supports the inclination to test international waters even in this economy.
Their survey of consumers in China and India indicates that while Americans are suffering from ‘brand fatigue’, Chinese and Indian consumers are still quite brand loyal. According to the report, 79% of Indian respondents and 71% of Chinese respondents feel that brand was reason enough to pay more for a purchase. Interestingly, the report also suggests that economies which are old enough to remember a previous recessionary period are reverting to those former spending habits — reducing consumption — while states with a burgeoning middle class seem unfazed.
