As gas prices climb in the U.S., Nielsen is tracking consumer actions at the register and in the home. And while consumers continue to take measures to adjust to rising prices, these actions are not as drastic as those taken in previous years.

Unlike its U.S. neighbor, where consumers are taking less drastic measures to deal with rising gas prices than in previous years, Canadians continue to feel the pain at the pump.

The recession was a wake up call to a new conscientious consumer, where spare cash is low and prices are high. Three key trends are defining the new Canadian consumer marketplace.

Music sales in the U.S. are up 1.6 percent in 2011, according to The Nielsen Company, as digital album and track sales saw dramatic growth through May 8. Digital retailers received more than half of all music transactions, propelling a 12.4 percent growth in sales over last year.

Caretakers. Breadwinners. Couponers. Social networkers. Decision makers. Roughly 34 percent of American households are home to kids under 18, and modern moms wear many hats and play many roles.

It’s a new era in Indonesia: global capital markets have recovered significantly since the financial crisis of 2008, and in 2010 the GDP grew 6.1 percent and GDP per capita hit US$3,000, according to the IMF World Fact Book.

For the second year in a row, Kia’s hip hamsters helped the automaker roll home with The Nielsen Company’s 5th Annual Nielsen Automotive Ad of the Year award.

Women are utilizing new technologies in their own way and are most likely to adopt new technology when it is social and relevant—that is, when it seamlessly improves their day-to-day lives

From the airport to the elevator, the gym to the gas station, digital location-based video ad exposures are seeing marked growth, according to The Nielsen Company’s Fourth Screen Network Audience Report.

The proliferation of the Internet, social networks, smartphones, tablets and branded in-store and mobile contact points in Italy are presenting increased opportunities to build successful relationships with the consumer, and Italian consumers are increasingly taking advantage of their multi-channel options.