• by Sarah Mahoney  @mahoney_sarah, June 28, 2011

A new report from Nielsen finds that the world over, female shoppers are feeling more stressed, more empowered, and more optimistic about what life will be like for their daughters.

The survey looked at women in 21 countries and found that almost 80% of those respondents in developed countries say that the role of women will change, and 90% say it will be for the better. Women in emerging markets are more likely to believe their daughters will find better opportunities than they did.

While all women feel the stress of multiple roles, the study reports that tension is highest in emerging economies, where women have less discretionary income. Women in India (87%), Mexico (74%) and Russia (69%) reported the most stress among developing countries; in developed economies, women in Spain (66%), France (65%) and allegedly laid-back Italy (64%) reported the highest levels of stress.

That creates more opportunities for marketers to reach women with promises of stress-reducing convenience, the study concluded, with women in most markets saying they like TV best for getting to know new products: "In 10 of 10 emerging markets and in 7 of 11 developed countries analyzed, television outranked 14 other sources of information," the report says. Word of mouth came in second. And in 20 out of 21 countries, quality -- not price -- was named as the main driver of brand loyalty.

"Women across the globe are achieving higher levels of education, joining the workforce in greater numbers and contributing more to the household income," writes Nielsen vice chair Susan Whiting. "Women are increasing their spending power and with that, they gain more control and influence over key household decisions. As a result, the women of today and tomorrow are powerful consumers, and understanding their habits and attitudes is critically important for marketers and advertisers."

When it comes to spending discretionary income, women in developed markets are more likely to cite vacations (58%), groceries (57%) and savings or paying off credit cards/debts (55% each.) Those in less developed countries say they spend extra money on everyday essentials such as clothing (70%), groceries (68%) and health and beauty items (53%.