You might be surprised that the fastest growing
consumer markets in the world are not India or China but smaller and out of the
way places like Malawi, Sierra Leone, Turkmenistan, Saudi Arabia and Mongolia. Euromonitor
International reviewed consumer expenditure growth rate and per capital
consumer expenditure to determine countries with the highest market expansion
rates. As the consumer expenditure growth rate and per capita consumer
expenditure raises so does the opportunity for international businesses to sell
new products and services to satisfy local consumer needs.
Consumer spending growth rate is the average
increase in the amount of money that is spent per household within a country. The per capita consumer expenditure is the
final expenditure of households. The two numbers together determine the
percentage of increase and the total spending that can be used by companies to
make investment decisions.
The Top Five growing markets:
Malawi: 16.4 million consumers growing in consumer spending by
18.2% in a land locked South African country with little infrastructure to
support large investments.
Sierra
Leone: 6.1 million people with an
increase in consumer spending of 14.7% in a West African country with poor
infrastructure.
Turkmenistan: 14.4% growth rate in consumer
spending with a growing middle class and solid infrastructure. Communications,
education, leisure and recreation will be the top industries.
Saudi
Arabia: 12% growth rate with one of the
highest consumer expenditure value. Hotels, services, luxury and finance are
top industries.
Mongolia: A small population of 2.8 million with a growth rate of
11.8%.
Conducting business and investing in
foreign countries is trickier and more risk oriented than investing in the U.S.
Even though the same principles apply in domestic or foreign development many
small countries lack basic infrastructure and skill sets that encourage higher
levels of investment development. Saudi Arabia has a stable government and
solid infrastructure that is beneficial while Sierra Leone may have a higher
rate of growth but also political instability and poor infrastructure.
