Record high fuel prices, soaring commodities costs, and declining consumer confidence have changed the way U.S. consumers shop, according to a recent Nielsen consumer survey.  
Results from the survey indicate that 63% of U.S. consumers have reduced their household spending this year. 
The findings also suggest that consumers will continue to combine shopping trips, eat at home, and seek out at-home entertainment.

With food and gasoline costs surging, household budgets worldwide are feeling the pinch.  But how people feel about the economy — and how they are coping financially — varies by country and region, The Economist recently reported.
Consumers in the Asia-Pacific region, for example, are more inclined to save than to splurge if they have spare money, while Russian consumers pump their extra cash into expanding their wardrobe, according to Nielsen.
Meanwhile, people in Nordic countries continue to spend money on travel and vacations, while Brazilians are happy to stay home.
Discretionary income …

Nielsen Mobile and Mediamark Research & Intelligence announced Thursday that they will jointly launch Mobile-MRI, an integrated database that will track the lifestyle and behavior of mobile media consumers. 
Nielsen Mobile collects data on consumer mobile usage, audience sizes and composition across all mobile media vehicles, while Mediamark provides data on media and product consumption, psychographic characteristics, and geodemographic characteristics.
Nielsen and Mediamark’s joint database will offer detailed behavioral, psychographic, demographic, and product usage information on mobile users. 
The new tool will help mobile media companies and advertisers better target audiences with mobile ad campaigns. 
View the …

Brand Republic reported Tuesday that the fastest-growing UK websites over the past 12 months were those offering consumer discounts, according to Nielsen Online.
Nielsen’s list of the 10 fastest-growing UK websites included a site offering UK travel discounts, two coupon/reward sites, a shopping comparison site, and a site with classified ads for jobs, cars and homes.
“Sites tapping into consumer concerns about the economy, giving them the opportunity to save money, dominate the fastest growing list,” Alex Burmaster, Internet Analyst, Nielsen Online, told Brand Republic.
View the full press release.

Nielsen announced Thursday that it will join forces with the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) to study travel consumers in India. 
Based on a sample of 2,000 respondents across 10 cities in India and updated annually, the Indian Outbound Travel Monitor will explore the behavior and considerations of Indian travelers when planning for, during, and after a trip abroad. 
The Monitor, which will track travelers’ destination preferences and travel decision-making processes, aims to help tourism professionals identify and optimize growth opportunities in India.
The Indian outbound travel market has expanded by nearly 10% annually …

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,” …

Despite high food costs, sales of favorite cook-out foods are expected to soar in preparation for Americans’ July 4 celebrations, The Nielsen Company reported Wednesday. 
U.S. consumers are expected to purchase more than 110 million pounds or $215 million worth of hot dogs and 25 million pounds or $117 million of fresh ground beef for the July 4 holiday, according to Nielsen.  Meanwhile, carbonated beverage sales are expected to reach a whopping $1.5 billion – or more than 240 million cases, while at least 23 million cases of beer are expected …