According to Nielsen, discretionary shopping trips continued to decline dramatically in November, as consumers shifted purchases online and to value-oriented retailers.
Overall in November, trips to retailers declined by 2.9% from the previous year.
Retail Channel Trends
Toy stores, electronics stores, and department stores saw the most dramatic declines in the number of shopping trips last month vs. a year ago.  Trips to toy stores dropped by 23%, trips to electronics stores were down by 21%, and trips to department stores fell by 17%, Nielsen reported.
Retail channels offering low prices and strong value …

Which charitable causes did American households give donations to during the past year?
According to Scarborough Research, that may depend on which city you live in.  The firm’s research found that the percentage of households contributing to specific types of causes differed from city to city. 
Below, Scarborough ranks the top U.S. cities, by percent of households that contributed to a wide range of organizations — political, religious, arts/cultural, healthcare/medical, and social care/welfare — during the past year.

Hispanic-American households spent almost twice as much (90% more) on dried vegetables and grains than average American households during the 52 weeks ending June 28, 2008, according to Nielsen.
These households also outspent average households by 88% on purchases of ice, and by 75%, 72%, and 64%, respectively, on purchases of baby food, baby needs, and disposable diapers.
Acculturated Hispanic-American households — those that speak at least some English at home – account for 10.8% of all U.S. households.  These households represented 20.5% of dried vegetables and grains product dollar sales and 20.3% of …

More than half of U.S. consumers (58%) are “very concerned” about rising food prices, according to a survey of more than 48,000 households conducted by Nielsen in October.
So are consumer packaged goods (CPG) manufacturers and retailers, who have struggled in recent months to balance consumer demand for low prices and high value with abnormally high raw materials and transportation costs.
Rather than raising prices, some food manufacturers have reduced the size of their products.  Such strategies may minimize sticker shock at the grocery store, but are unpopular with U.S. consumers.
Instead, according …

In recent years, white spirits have dominated Bev-Al sales in the U.S., but now brown spirits — led by whiskey — appear to be making a comeback.
According to Nielsen, U.S. sales growth for whiskey and brown spirits is outperforming the growth rate of the overall spirits category in 2008.
Whiskey growth rates have been rising steadily this year, with whiskey dollar sales increasing nearly $85 million or 4.4% in 2008 — up from 2.3% a year ago.  At the same time, whiskey volume, while declining a year ago, is now showing growth.
In …

Sales in British supermarkets picked up during the last two weeks of November, as shoppers turned their backs on convenience stores and the high street retailers in favor of larger purchases at larger, value-oriented hypermarkets, Nielsen reported Tuesday. 
Year-over-year growth at hypermarkets reached 6% during the period, while the smallest convenience outlets declined by almost 2% during the 12-week period.
In comparison, year-over-year growth in the British grocery sector stood at 3.2% during the 12 weeks ending 29 November, according to Nielsen.  Grocery multiples showed stronger growth (+5.6%) during the period.
“In order …

Baby boomers are beginning to retire from the U.S. workforce, but according to Nielsen, their buying power remains strong.
Households with baby boomer members — born between 1946 and 1964 – account for nearly $230 billion in sales of consumer packaged goods (CPG) products and represent 55% of total CPG sales, a new study by Nielsen and Hallmark Channel reports.
The research, which examined the CPG spending power and brand loyalty of baby boomer households, found that baby boomer households’ share of sales is 5 points higher than their share of population, according to …

With less money to spend, consumers will undoubtedly be spending more time at home in 2009.
Already this year, Nielsen witnessed significant year-over-year (ending September 2008) growth in online activities with increases in time spent daily on videos (+46%), blogs (+20%), and e-commerce sites (+17%).
Expect this trend to continue, as well as increases in newer in-home entertainment options such as video vending.
But don’t expect more time spent at home to trigger increased book sales.
Technology-driven gadgets, gizmos, and games will dominate spare-time activities, while U.S. book sales will remain essentially flat, with …

Obesity is more prevalent in the U.S. than ever before, and marketers are taking notice.  Many are actively changing their strategies to create products and messages that appeal to this segment of the population. 
According to NielsenHealth, U.S. households with at least one obese member spend 9% more than the average American household on over-the-counter medications, 10% more on health and beauty care products, and almost 17% more on total medications and remedies. 
Obesity sufferers tend to live in low-income households, with incomes of less than $20,000/year, and are more likely to be middle-aged …

Most U.S. consumers (86%) believe the country is currently in a recession, and more than half (54%) believe it will last longer than 12 months, Nielsen reported Monday.
The findings come from Nielsen’s Global Online Consumer Survey, conducted in 52 markets worldwide between September 22 and October 6, 2008.
Only 18% of respondents said they believe the recession will be over within a year.  Younger survey participants (ages 25 to 29) expressed the least amount of confidence, with just 6% saying the recession would be over within 12 months.  Older respondents (ages 65 and older) were …