In the U.S., food and gasoline prices are surging — along with unemployment, personal debt, and foreclosure rates.
These are just a few of the economic pressures that have forced U.S. consumers to change the “what, when and how” of their spending, James Russo, Vice President, Food Sector Marketing, Nielsen, writes in the July issue of Nielsen’s “Consumer Insight” online newsletter.
Drawing on data culled from across Nielsen’s global marketing, media, entertainment, and retailing services, Russo demonstrates how consumers and retailers are adapting to the tough economic conditions. His advice for manufacturers …

The Nielsen Company announced Tuesday it has extended its agreement with The Procter & Gamble Company (P&G) to provide U.S. consumer marketing information and insights.  Nielsen currently provides marketing information services to P&G in more than 65 countries in Europe, Asia, Latin America, Middle East and Africa.
Under the multi-year agreement, Nielsen will provide P&G with retail tracking, insights on consumer purchase behavior, marketing analytics, and Nielsen Answers™, Nielsen’s technology-based business intelligence solution. 
“P&G chose Nielsen for our technology capabilities, our deep, rich content, our strong focus on process improvement and productivity and …

High gas prices are forcing Consumers to combine shopping trips, eat out less, and stay home more, according to research released Thursday by Nielsen.
In addition, nearly two-thirds (63%) of consumers are compensating for rising gas prices by reducing their spending, Nielsen found. That percentage increased by 18 points since June 2007 — and by 14 points in the last six months alone.
“While discretionary spending is likely to be a challenge for most low and middle income shoppers, even affluent consumers are looking for ways to make their dollars go further,” …

The Wall Street Journal reported Friday that American shoppers are abandoning more expensive alternatives and trading down — to store brands, smaller cars, and discount stores.
With bargain-hunting and coupon-clipping all the rage, deep-discounters are seeing increased business, while pricier retailers are losing customers.  The story noted that visits to department stores are down 6% this year, down 7% at office-supply stores, and down 10% at home-improvement retailers, according to Nielsen.

New research from The Nielsen Company and Bevinco reveals that bars and restaurants are feeling the effects of the current economic downturn.
More than 40% of bar managers, bar owners, and bartenders surveyed in May report they have seen a decrease in consumer traffic, while 25% note a decrease in the number of drinks ordered and 22% say that customers are ordering less expensive drinks. 
Establishments on the East and West coasts report the greatest declines, with owners and operators in California and Florida citing significant decreases in consumer traffic — 55% …

An increasing number of U.S. consumers are adopting a gluten-free diet, the Los Angeles Times reported Monday. 
People with celiac disease are required to avoid gluten, while others believe the diet boosts energy and improves digestion.
The story noted that sales of gluten-free products increased 20% — from $1.46 billion to $1.75 billion — during the 12-month period ending June 14, according to Nielsen.

The International Herald Tribune reported Sunday that the current deluge of environmentally conscious advertisements is fueling consumer skepticism of “green” marketing. 
Jonathan Banks, business insight director, Nielsen, told the Tribune that a huge volume of “green” ads and the flimsiness of the claims in some of the campaigns are fueling the current backlash.
“After 18 months, levels of concern on any issue tend to drop off,” Banks noted. “I fear that something similar may happen with this.”
View Nielsen Online’s recent Webinar on “Greenwashing”.

America’s wealth landscape is in flux.  In recent years, a new segment of wealthy Americans has emerged, according to a new white paper recently released by Nielsen Claritas. 
Known as the “New Mass Affluent,” members of this group have amassed assets of more than $100,000 each, though most of these baby boomers were born into middle class households.  By 2007, the group represented 19% of all households in the U.S.  By 2012, the New Mass Affluent is expected to grow to account for at least 20% of all American households.
Often underserved …

Germany-based sports apparel brand Adidas AG is set to open its largest international store in Beijing, China.  The shop is about one-and-a-half times the size of Adidas’s previous largest outlet, on Paris’s Champs-Elysées, reports The Wall Street Journal.  Christophe Bezu, who heads Adidas Asia, told The Journal that China will overtake Japan as the company’s second-largest market, after the U.S., by the end of 2008.
In the same story, Richard Basil-Jones, Nielsen’s managing director of Asia Pacific media, noted a recent Nielsen survey, which suggests that Adidas faces significant challenges from both Nike and Li …

Despite the current downturn in the U.S. economy, sales of wine and spirits remain strong, BusinessWeek reported Tuesday.
The story noted that sales of other consumer-discretionary products have been hurt by the poor economic conditions, but alcohol sales are proving to be resilient.  “Beverage alcohol continues to be pretty recession-resistant,” Richard Hurst, of AC Nielsen, told BusinessWeek.
In May, spirit sales rose by 5.4% on a dollar basis and 3.6% on a volume basis, according to Nielsen. 
A recent Nielsen study provides in-depth analysis of current trends in alcoholic beverage purchases.