According to first-reported data from Nielsen Smartphone Analytics, a new effort that tracks and analyzes data from on-device meters installed on thousands of iOS and Android smartphones, the average Android consumer in the U.S. spends 56 minutes per day actively interacting with web and apps on their phone.

As inflationary concerns continue to mount across Asia Pacific, more shoppers are turning to promotional offers for some respite from the rising prices of fast-moving consumer goods (FMCGs), according to a Nielsen study on shopper trends. Shoppers in Vietnam and Malaysia were particularly motivated by promotions, followed by shoppers in China.

Nielsen data shows that U.S. travelers of all ages are indeed in the midst of the hottest travel season, visiting a variety of travel sites to research and plan their destinations.

Who watches the most TV? Women watch more than men, African-Americans outpace other ethnicities and older Americans tune in at higher rates than those their junior, according to the latest Nielsen Cross-Platform Report. The report shares video consumption across traditional TV, mobile and online.

According to Nielsen, Google’s Android operating system (OS) now claims the largest share of the U.S. consumer smartphone market with 39%. Apple’s iOS is in second place with 28%.

Streaming video online is on the rise in the U.S., and how consumers tune in differs greatly across services. According to a recent Nielsen survey, the majority of Netflix users report watching on a TV screen. In fact, half of all Netflix users connect via a game console (Wii, PS3 or Xbox Live).

There is no doubt that U.S. store brands benefited greatly from the Great Recession of 2008-2009. The quality of today’s store brand offerings coupled with more value-conscious consumers looking to stretch their dollars ignited a sales boom. In the U.S., private label sales increased 1.8 share points from the end of 2007 to the end of 2008 to reach a 22.3 percent market share.

Global online confidence declined to its lowest level in six quarters to 89 as economic recovery hit a stumbling block and recessionary jitters again reverberated around the world, according to Nielsen’s quarterly Global Online Consumer Confidence Survey.

While fewer than 20 percent of Asia Pacific mobile users currently have smartphones, interest in upgrading is high: nearly half of consumers intend on buying a smartphone in 2011, according to Nielsen research.

With 82 percent of Americans online, 93 percent owning mobile phones and 155 million using Facebook, access to digital technologies is officially pervasive, yet retailers still spend an estimated 60–70 percent of their marketing budget on printed ad circulars.