MasterCard Advisors, a division of MasterCard (NYSE: MA) announced today the launch of SpendingPulse in Brazil, a report that provides a macroeconomic analysis of retail performance and spending.
The report leverages aggregated and anonymous transaction data to offer insight into consumer spending trends, and provides an early overview of market indices to help retailers, investors, card issuers, banks and government agencies in their decision-making processes.
Available to subscribers in the United States, United Kingdom and Canada, SpendingPulse is delivered ahead of retail spending figures provided by other sources and is one of the most quoted reports on macroeconomic trends in the US. It is often used as a source of reference by major international news outlets.
As the seventh largest economy in the world, and the biggest in Latin America, Brazil is one of the most attractive countries for global retail expansion due to its growing middle class and high consumption rates. According to the Brazilian Institute of Geography & Statistics (IBGE), household consumption accounts for approximately 60 percent of Brazil's economy. "It is the ideal time to extend SpendingPulse into Brazil because the market represents enormous growth opportunities", said Gilberto Caldart, CEO of MasterCard Brazil and GeoSouth.
The new SpendingPulse report provides the most complete overview of consumer spending in Brazil. Based on data from transactions processed by the MasterCard Brazil payments network of 1.7 million businesses nationwide, the report offers actionable insights on the supermarket, household and consumer goods, clothing and construction materials industries, as well as an overall retail index.
The first SpendingPulse Brazil report of the year showed a 7.7% growth year-over-year in Brazilian retail sales during the month of January. This performance was driven primarily by a decrease in the unemployment rate, which reached 4.6% in December (IBGE).
"Unemployment in Brazil was at its lowest level on record since the IBGE survey began in 2002. This, combined with strong payroll gains at the end of the year, led to increasased consumer spending for January," explained Sarah Quinlan, Senior Vice President and Group Head for Market Insights at MasterCard Advisors.
"SpendingPulse reports offer significant value to companies, providing the most timely and actionable source of information on retail spending trends available in the marketplace. We understand how important it is for our customers to have accurate insights they can act upon, in near real-time, to achieve greater Return on Investment for their businesses," she concluded.
SpendingPulse Brazil Methodology
MasterCard analyzes the transactions processed by the MasterCard Brazil payments network and uses statistical models which take into account the trends of other payment methods to produce accurate and efficient reports. SpendingPulse® Brazil is based on a robust data sample drawn from over 1.7 million businesses accredited by MasterCard throughout the country.