U.S. Consumer Trends: Looking Back At 2008; Ahead To 2009

Nielsen retail industry experts Jonathan Banks, Todd Hale, Tom Pirovano, James Russo, and Jean-Jacques Vandenheede review the key trends that defined the U.S. retail sector in 2008 – and offer their predictions for the new year.

2008: Staying In Is The New Going Out
Americans are spending more time in front of their computers and televisions. The reach and frequency of TV, Internet, and time shifted TV use increased notably in 2008, as consumers on tight budgets opted to save money by staying home. 

2008: Economizing Strategies Go Digital
In 2008, 20% of consumer discussions online referenced strategies for managing grocery budgets.  Visits to price comparison websites were also up significatnly this year. 

2008: Private Label Reigns Supreme 
As the economy worsened, consumers continued to shift dollar and unit spending to private label products.  The result: private label shares hit all time highs in both units and dollars at year’s end.  Private label dollar sales averaged about 10% growth in the five four-week periods near the end of the year.  Meanwhile, unit sales growth accelerated, averaging 4% to 5% growth.  In comparison, branded products saw 3% average dollar sales growth and 3% unit sales decline. 

2008: Value Trumps Variety, Convenience
“Value” categories and brands saw greater growth in 2008, compared to the previous year:
- Spam: dollar sales up 14% vs. year ago 
- Ramen Noodles: dollar sales up 30% vs. year ago
- Dry Pasta: dollar sales up 25% vs. year ago
- Bulk Rice: dollar sales up 38% vs. year ago
- Margarine: dollar sales up 21% vs. year ago
- Canned Vegetables: dollar sales up 9% vs. year ago
- Frozen Vegetables: dollar sales up 7% vs. year ago

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Social Media Comes Of Age: Blackshaw Reflects On Marketing And The Web In 2008

By Pete Blackshaw, Nielsen

2008 was a newsworthy — albeit, topsy-turvy — year for marketers and researchers. Importantly, social media evolved from experimental sideline to a mainstream attraction. Twitter saw huge growth rates, Barack Obama rewrote the rules of digital marketing, and user-engagement, and “service is marketing” Zappos.com re-wrote new rules for building brands and rewiring e-commerce. Facebook trended upward, MySpace held steady, and reputation-broker Wikipedia continued marching to the top of Google search results.

Brands like Tide used social media to squeeze extra value out of Super Bowl ads, and Comcast (full disclosure: a Nielsen client) parlayed service scorn into a fundamentally different service/engagement model (still a work in progress).

Fortified by corporate blogs and Twittter handles, dozens of other companies launched “social media” teams, while CEOs like Howard Schultz used CGM (e.g. MyStarbucksIdea.com) as the centerpiece of its turnaround strategy.

Retailers like Wal-Mart turbocharged their web platforms with user-reviews – many of which ironically challenged “green claims” of  featured products, while Facebook introduced “add water and stir” fan-sites that were often as inviting to activists as to brand loyalists.

Industry groups like the IAB created social media committees, the ARF put unstructured “listening” at the top of the 2008-09 agenda, and for the first time WOMMA managed to nab the likes of IBM, Kraft, Unilever, Intuit, Hershey’s, and other big fish at its annual conference — a “coming of age” for word-of-mouth marketing.

On a personal level, I somehow managed to crank out a book that I’m quite proud of, “Satisfied Customers Tell Three Friends, Angry Customers Tell 3000″ (Doubleday), and I certainly hope it continues to inspire constructive conversation on issues and developments similar to the ones I outline below.

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Tops In 2008: Best Selling Books, Audio Books

Nielsen has issued a year-end look at the most popular trends among Americans during 2008, covering everything from the top TV programs to the most popular consumer packaged goods.

William P. Young’s ”The Shack” was the top-selling fiction book through November 30.

Among non-fiction books, “A New Earth,” by Eckhart Tolle was the top-seller.

The audio version of Tolle’s “A New Earth” was the top-selling audio book of the year.

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Tops In 2008: Most Popular Consumer Goods

Nielsen has issued a year-end look at the most popular trends among Americans during 2008, covering everything from the top TV programs to the most popular consumer packaged goods.

It’s official: Americans love their carbs.  The Bread and Baked Goods category ranked number one for 2008 — both in terms of consumer purchases and retail sales.  According to Nielsen, 99% of U.S. homes purchased bread/baked goods at least once during the 52 weeks ending June 28, 2008.  The Bread/Baked Goods category raked in $18.3 billion in sales through November 1.  Other popular CPG categories include paper products, snacks, and carbonated beverages.

Scarborough Research, a joint partnership with Nielsen and Arbitron, also reported on the top U.S.  markets for online shopping.  Washington, D.C. and San Francisco ranked first and second, respectively, with 39% and 35% of adults spending $500 or more online in the past year.  Nationwide, 25% of adults reported spending $500 or more online in the past year.
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Tops In 2008: Top Game Consoles, PC And Mobile Games

Nielsen has issued a year-end look at the most popular trends among Americans during 2008, covering everything from the top TV programs to the most popular consumer packaged goods.

Sony’s Playstation 2 was the top game console of 2008, claiming 31.7% of all measured console minutes, according to Nielsen.  The Xbox 360 and Wii ranked second and third, respectively, with 17.2% and 13.4% of all usage minutes between January and October of this year.

Blizzard Entertainment’s “World of Warcraft” was the most popular PC game title of the year, drawing an average of 0.723% of all PC gamers per minute between January and October 2008.

Among mobile gamers, “Tetris” was the top game for Q3 2008, in terms of share of revenue. 

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Tops In 2008: Top Websites, “Downloader” Markets

Nielsen has issued a year-end look at the most popular trends among Americans during 2008, covering everything from the top TV programs to the most popular consumer packaged goods.

Google was the most popular website with U.S. Internet users, drawing the largest audience (120 million unique visitors per month, on average) through October 2008.

As of 2008, the most prolific content downloaders in the U.S. live in California, according to Scarborough Research, a joint partnership with Nielsen and Arbitron. The San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose market had the highest percentage (32%) of adults who had downloaded podcasts, video games, music/other audio clips, movies, videos, or TV programs in the past month.  The San Diego and Austin, Texas markets tied for a close second place (31%).  Nationwide, 24% of adults have downloaded online content in the past month.

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Tops In 2008: Most Popular Mobile Phones, Mastertones

Nielsen has issued a year-end look at the most popular trends among Americans during 2008, covering everything from the top TV programs to the most popular consumer packaged goods.

Motorola’s RAZR V3 series handset was easily the most popular mobile phone in use in the U.S., as of Q3 2008.

In October, more than 15.2 million American mobile Internet users visited Yahoo! Mail, making it the most popular mobile Web destination that month.  Google Search, which drew more than 10.5 million mobile Internet users in October, ranked second. 

Among master ringtones — 20-30 second excerpts of recorded songs — “Lollipop,” by Lil Wayne, featuring Static Major, and “Low,” by Flo Rida, featuring T-Pain, were most popular.

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Tops In 2008: Best Selling Albums, Most Downloaded Songs

Nielsen has issued a year-end look at the most popular trends among Americans during 2008, covering everything from the top TV programs to the most popular consumer packaged goods.

Alicia Keys’ “As I Am” was the top selling album of 2008, according to Billboard and Nielsen.

Keys also had the most listened-to radio song of the year, “No One,” which drew 3.08 billion radio listeners between November 12, 2007 through November 16, 2008. 

“Low,” by Flo Rida, featuring T-Pain, was the most downloaded song of the year, through November 16.

According to Scarborough Research, a joint partnership with Nielsen and Arbitron, MP3 players are most prevalent in Washington D.C., where 40% of adults live in households with at least one player.  Nationwide, 30% of adults live in homes with MP3 players.

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Tops In 2008: Top Advertisers, Most Popular Commercials

Nielsen has issued a year-end look at the most popular trends among Americans during 2008, covering everything from the top TV programs to the most popular consumer packaged goods.

Procter & Gamble was the top advertiser, spending more than $2.3 billion on traditional media advertising in the U.S. through September 30.  General Motors and AT&T rounded out the top three advertisers.

Among the year’s most-liked commercials, ads by the NFL, Budweiser, and Geico were most popular with American audiences. 

Product placements by CVS (on “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition”), TRESemme (on “Project Runway”), and El Pollo Loco (on “Flipping Out”) were most popular with viewers.

NBC’s “Biggest Loser” featured the greatest number of product placements (6,248 occurrences) of any broadcast TV program, through November 30.

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Tops In 2008: Top TV Programs, Single Telecasts

Nielsen has issued a year-end look at the most popular trends among Americans during 2008, covering everything from the top TV programs to the most popular consumer packaged goods.

FOX’s “American Idol” was the top TV program of 2008, according to Nielsen.  Tuesday night broadcasts of “American Idol,” through December 7, drew 15.5% of U.S. TV households, on average, while Wednesday night “American Idol” broadcasts drew an average of 15.3% of all TV households.

Viewers with DVR access gave NBC’s “Heroes” the biggest bump any primetime program received in 2008.  The average TV audience for “Heroes” increased by 35% when timeshifted viewing within seven days of a program’s original air date was factored into Nielsen’s ratings.  FOX’s “Fringe” and ABC’s “Lost” also drew large audience boosts — +26% and +25%, respectively — from DVR viewers.

The 2008 Superbowl, which drew 43.1% of all U.S. TV households, was the most popular single telecast of 2008. 

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