Now that the recession is largely over, Nielsen has released a study that has assessed whether consumers are ready to start spending money again.

The study, ‘Global Consumer Strategies for Saving Money’ surveyed 27,000 consumers in 55 markets to get a better sense of whether steps are still being taken to save money in view of uncertain economic conditions.

A major finding of the study was that consumers are holding onto financial techniques picked up during the recession. These included tactics such as buying items on sale (57%), using coupons (40%), shopping at value retailers (37%), shopping close to home/work (25%) and stocking up on shopping items (22%).

Consumers also admitted to still buying purchases on credit. Globally 19% of consumers said that they use credit cards more often than last year, however 31% of North Americans and 30% of Latin Americans admitted to using their credit cards less than the previous year.

Other findings included half of the respondents admitting to eating out less often than the year before – particularly in Latin America, North America, Europe and the Middle East. Asia Pacific however, showed a 5% higher rate than the global average for eating out.