Preliminary figures show that expenditures fell $10.9 billion to a total spend of $83.4 billion in the first nine months of the year.

Meet the mini media moguls who are dictating electronic sales and media utilization patterns in American homes: kids. TV still dominates with children of all ages, but older children gravitate toward the Internet and younger kids hang on to DVDs.

Nordic consumers have more confidence in the economy and their personal finances than the rest of Europe and are increasingly ready to spend, according to the latest edition of the Nielsen Global Consumer Confidence Survey.

Knowing consumers’ attitudes toward grocery shopping is critical for retailers to understand how to encourage shoppers to spend more each trip, thereby helping grow their business.

It is now accepted wisdom that the recession has essentially come to an end. And as it recedes, observers are beginning to look at the damage wrought as well as how retailers, manufacturers and consumers changed their behavior. A new report from The Nielsen Company, “Reading the Recession,” reveals how the recession has affected the leading brands, consumer behavior and job vacancies. Using key economic indicators, consumer research, recruitment data, web site measurement and advertising spend, Nielsen has analyzed the impact of the recession on the UK and identified sectors showing early signs of recovery.

With projected weak holiday sales this season and deal-seeking activities rampant, online retailers have an opportunity to gain share through their own web sites and social media outlets.

When news of the H1N1 flu pandemic hit, concerned consumers turned to the Internet to get educated and raced to the stores to buy preventative, treatment, and sanitizing products at increased rates. The demand is far from over.

The pathway to Internet profitability for marketers will be determined by the ability to integrate mobile, TV, Internet traffic and advertising data into a holistic, effective multi-strand fabric that blankets the consumer in a traceable, measurable way.

Companies can increase advertising effectiveness by 30-40% if they more closely analyze how well each marketing activity performs for each brand. Eight guiding principles help marketers maximize ROI.

The fall of the Berlin Wall 20 years ago helped propel the growth of the European Union. Today, the EU economy is bigger than the United States and is still growing. Will the EU challenge U.S. historical economic dominance on a global scale?