After a month of strong growth, grocery sales in the UK took a step back in July, due largely to poor weather that dampened the traditional BBQ season.  Sales grew 4 percent in the four weeks ended August 8, 2009 compared to the same period a year ago, according to Nielsen’s monthly survey.  Unit growth was up 2.3 percent.
“The poor weather resulted in shoppers making fewer shopping trips this year.  But with grocers increasing promotional activity, with 33 percent of sales this month being on promotion, we expect monthly growth …

The notion that the global economy may be on the verge of recovery has not yet translated into improved consumer spending or confidence, although consumers in the emerging countries – Brazil, India and China – seem to be more optimistic than others and are loosening their purse strings ever so slightly, according to the new edition of the Nielsen Economic Current.  Of the 12 countries Nielsen now tracks, all but Taiwan (which declined) showed no significant change in measures of spending.  Canadian, Western European and American spending was, at best, …

Canadians are feeling better about the state of the economy, and are some of the most optimistic globally, according to Nielsen’s Global Consumer Confidence Survey.  Confidence in Canada rose 6 points – above the global average and well above confidence levels in the U.S. (where confidence continues to be flat).  This renewed feeling of confidence seems well placed in light of a recent report from the Bank of Canada, released after Nielsen’s survey, which declared that the recession has ended in the country. 
“After nearly two years of downward trending, we …

Store, or private label, brands have seen their popularity grow in the U.S. and Europe as retailers have improved the quality and breadth of offerings to appeal to consumers watching their money more carefully.   Once known for being simply cheaper – and not as good – alternatives to name brands, private label products have been one of the bright spots for retailers in an otherwise gloomy economic environment.  The shift to private label has also attracted Australian consumers, and recent research from The Nielsen Company has found that such products …

For more than a year, the U.S. consumer hit by the recession has changed the way he or she shops: a focus on value for money has led to some dramatic shifts in behavior that some say will last far beyond the current economic environment.  With 80 percent of Americans saying they were stressed due to the economy, savvy retailers and consumer goods manufacturers have shifted their marketing to appeal to consumers watching their money more closely.  But have those ads been successful?  Nielsen IAG examined 67 such ads from …

According to the latest Nielsen Global Confidence Survey conducted in the second half of June, Australians are seeing encouraging signs of economic recovery with strong consumer confidence levels and optimism about the state of their finances and willingness to spend over the next 12 months.
Australia ranked fifth of the 28 markets Nielsen measures, just behind fast-growing developing countries Indonesia, India, the Philippines and Brazil, and well ahead of other developed nations.
Forty-four percent of Aussies believe “now is a good/excellent time to buy the things they want,” second highest of all …

Like many industrialized nations, the face of the United States is changing.  An aging population, a declining birth rate combined with growing ethnic diversity will pose new challenges for the economy.  Along with these demographic changes will come shifts in consumer spending, and consumer goods marketers will have to adjust tactics, focus and products if they hope to capitalize on what will be the new reality. 
So what will be different in terms of consumer spending in just 11 years?  A weakened Social Security system and underfunded private pension plans will …

Although Australia’s economy may have technically avoided entering a recession, almost two-thirds of Aussies believe that it has, and consumer confidence has plummeted to an all-time low.  Concerns about job security and personal finances have led Australians to change the way they shop, with a focus on value.  Like consumers in Europe and North America, Australians are trying to stretch their dollars further: they are eating out less, entertaining and cooking at home more often and buying more private label goods. 
These changes present a range of challenges for retailers and …

Nielsen Chairman and CEO David Calhoun addressed the 53rd CIES World Food Business Summit in June, providing retailers and manufacturers with a comprehensive view of dramatic shifts in the consumer economy amid the global financial crisis.   
Watch the presentation [29 minutes]
 The freefall of the economy may be coming to an end, but new rules are in play:

There has been a fundamental shift in consumer spending patterns, as restraint has become the new mantra. Over the next 18 months to two years, consumers will make critical decisions about discretionary spending, saving, or paying down debt, …

Is the President Seeking to Connect with Mainstream America by Choosing Bud Light?
The White House announced that the President will be drinking Bud Light at tonight’s much-publicized “Beer Summit.” Consumer and media research firm Scarborough Research shows that Bud Light is also the beer choice for politically mainstream Americans. Bud Light drinkers (ages 21+) have no distinct political profile. They are just as likely as all drinking-age Americans to consider themselves Democrat, Republican, or Independent, and are average for voting in presidential, statewide and local elections. Bud Light drinkers are …