The Nielsen Company recently analyzed the demographics of Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Puerto Rico, and estimates that people age 50+ currently make up 19% of the population.  But that number will rise to 26% by 2025 and 38% by 2050.  Households with mature housewives (who drive buying decisions in the home) account for 30% of the region’s populace.  In Puerto Rico, such households make up more than half (54%), while in Chile they represent 40%, in Colombia 35%, in Brazil 29% and 28% in Mexico.

Per Capita Spending Power
These older households – while being 13% smaller than the average home – have higher levels of per capita spending than other age groups:

• Chile: 17% higher
• Brazil: 15%
• Mexico: 15%
• Colombia:13%
• Puerto Rico: 12%

“In the next 10 to 12 years, one of every four consumers will be over age 50, and as in other countries around the world, older Latin Americans are defying the traditional stereotypes.  They are more affluent, spend more money and are open to new brands and products,” said Mary Paz Roman, Consumer Panel Services, Product Leadership Latin America at Nielsen.

Categories that currently attract a greater preference among more mature Latin Americans include hot and cold beverages, sweeteners/sugar, pet food and hair dyes and coloring, and retailers and manufacturers can expect increased popularity in years to come.  But other categories that could benefit – if manufacturers innovate and appeal specifically to this demographic – include a number of health and beauty segments such as shampoo, conditioners and deodorants.

“As competition for a greater share of consumers’ pesos, reals and dollars grows more intense, retailers and manufacturers should re-assess how they view this consumer group if they hope to seize the opportunities this new reality offers,” concluded Roman.

Last June, we fielded a survey to our Nielsen Homescan panel which included a question asking primary shoppers about their tendencies for reading labels on food and beverage packages.  Just under two-thirds of U.S. households (61%) agree completely or agree somewhat that they read these product labels, with 31% agreeing completely.  And as you might expect, we do see some differences when we drill down across demographic groups, but we thought it would be interesting to also look at how shoppers at various retailers differ in terms of reading labels.

Here are the demographic groups who tell us they are more apt to read labels and whose response indexed 10% or higher versus the average household response.  No surprise here: better educated, older (probably needing to look at labels due to a health condition), higher income, and those in a professional/managerial occupation.  Is there an opportunity to increase font side on package labels to help older consumers decipher product ingredients?

% Households agreeing completely to “usually reading labels on food & beverage packages”:

• Total Households:  30.5%
• Female Head College Grad:  36.0% (118 index)
• Female Head Age 55 to 64:  35.0% (115)
• Female Head Age 65+:  34.8% (114)
• Incomes of $100k+:  34.1% (112)
• Professional/Managerial:  34.0% (111

Here are the demographic groups least likely to read labels and whose response indexed 10% or lower versus the average household response. These groups were blue collar, lower educated, families with kids of all ages, and larger families.  I suppose it makes sense that those larger, on-the-go families, who are managing tight budgets with more mouths to feed, are less likely to read labels on a regular basis.

However, it is disturbing given childhood obesity rates in this country, but also a good reason why I am pulling for the Guiding Stars program deployed by Delhaize banners to simplify the recognition of healthier products.

• Blue Collar:  24.8% (81)
• Female Head Not High School Grad:  24.9% (82)
• Families w/kids 13 to 17:  25.5% (84)
• Female Head Age 35 to 44:  26.0% (85)
• Families w/kids 6 to 12:  26.3% (86)
• Families w/kids under 6:  26.7% (88)
• 3 to 4 members:  27.1% (89)
• 5+ family members:  27.4% (90)

Here are the retailers whose shoppers (based on shopping in a retailer at least once over the year-ending May 2, 2009) were most likely to read labels and whose response indexed 10% or greater versus the average household response.  No surprise seeing Whole Foods top the list.  With Publix stores located mostly in the state of Florida (our oldest state) it ties with the above demographics insights.  Costco and Safeway probably benefit from a combination of their higher income draw as well as from focus on better-for-you offerings.

• Whole Foods:  52.4% (172)
• Trader Joe’s:  42.9% (141)
• Publix:  35.6% (117)
• Costco:  33.5% (110)
• Safeway Corp Grocery (all banners combined):  33.5% (110)

I’m happy to report that no retailer we tabbed had a response with an index of 10% or lower versus the average household.  However, only 26.8% of households who shop a Tobacco Store (index of 88) agree completely with usually reading labels.  These shoppers obviously forgot about reading labels a long time ago.

For further information or to arrange a comprehensive presentation on consumer shopping patterns, please contact Todd Hale at todd.hale@nielsen.com or 859-905-4615.

With double-digit growth across most categories measured, South Africans continued to take to the Internet in 2008, and the profile of those doing so is evolving.

Andrew Felbert, of Nielsen Online, said, “Not only are there more people online in South Africa, but they are spending more time online and viewing more content.  Companies and advertisers wishing to get their products and services in front of consumers can no longer ignore the power of the Internet.”

According to the new research:

•    The number of unique browsers and pages viewed increased by 25% between December 2007 and December 2008

•    Total time spent online increase by 45%

•    Males continue to dominate and now comprise 58% of the audience, up from 55% a year ago

•    The audience is aging, with the 50+ age group showing the most growth

•    English is the dominant language, comprising 56% of Unique Browsers — increasing share by almost 2%.  Afrikaans was the second-most dominant language, but showed a decrease of 2%.

•    The fastest growing brands are newspapers – Sunday World, Dispatch, Sowetan and The Herald all showed double or triple digit growth.

View the the full release

If the transition occurred today, those 9.6 million homes would unable to receive any television programming, while another 12.6 million households would have at least one television set that would no longer work.

In all, one in five U.S. households are either partially or completely unready for the government-mandated switch to digital programming that will occur on February 17, 2009.

Demographic Trends
Households headed by less educated, lower income, and blue collar workers are least prepared for the digital transition, according to Nielsen. Those whose total annual household income is less than $25,000 per year are five times more likely to be unprepared than households earning more than $75,000.

Older, white households are better prepared than their younger, African American, Asian, or Hispanic counterparts.  Thirteen percent of Hispanic households remain completely unready for the transition, as do 12.5% of African American households.

Geographic Trends
Among the 56 local markets Nielsen measures with electronic meters, Houston has the largest percentage (15.8%) of households that remain completely unready for the transition to digital TV.  In contrast, the Ft. Myers, Florida market, with only 2.4% of homes unready, is best prepared for the switch.

View complete data on digital preparedness in Nielsen’s 56 top local metered markets and 154 local diary markets.

Read Nielsen’s complete report on digital readiness in the U.S.

View the full press release.

Go behind the data: read NielsenWire’s Q&A with Steve McGowan, co-author of Nielsen’s most recent report on the transition to digital TV.

Read coverage of Nielsen’s findings on Bloomberg and in TV Week, Broadcasting & Cable, Multichannel News, Radio Business Report, and Mediaweek.

NielsenWire recently spoke with the co-author of Nielsen’s most recent report on the transition to digital TV, Steve McGowan, Senior Vice President, Insights and Client Research Initiatives, Nielsen.

NielsenWire: How has digital preparedness changed since Nielsen’s last report this past spring?

Steve McGowan:
Not all that much.  Since last May, when 9.8% of homes were “completely unready,” the number has dropped by just 1.4 percentage points — to 8.4%.

NielsenWire: So, how prepared are Americans for the switch to digital TV?

Steve McGowan:
The digital transition in American homes is happening at a casual rate: more than 9 million homes – that’s 8.4% of all U.S. homes – are still completely unready.

Spanish-language broadcast networks are still more vulnerable: 26% of tuning to these networks is done on “unready TV sets” — compared to 15% for English-language broadcast networks.

“Unready sets” are disproportionately found in the kitchen or secondary bedroom, as opposed to the living room or master bedroom, and may not get “upgraded” by February – or ever.

NielsenWire: Which demographics are most — and least — prepared for the transition to digital TV?

Steve McGowan:
Readiness rates are correlated with household income and head of household education.  Overall, we found that a larger proportion of “unready” homes are African American (12.5%) and Hispanic (13.0%).  Homes where Spanish is the primary language are most “unready” for the digital transition. 

Perhaps surprisingly to some, readiness rates are higher in older households.  Some might expect older people to be less ready for the digital transition, but in fact, they are better prepared, on average.

NielsenWire: What findings, if any, surprised you?

Steve McGowan:
With all the attention given to the coupon program for external digital tuner boxes, to date only one-fourth of the sets that were “upgraded” has one of these boxes.  As the transition date approaches, however, more homes may find this to be a better – and lower-cost — option than replacing the set altogether, or signing up for cable or satellite access.

NielsenWire: Why is this report still important?

Steve McGowan:
This series of reports tracks how Americans are responding to the conversion process.  Given the nation’s current economic turmoil, Americans may face additional financial hurdles in replacing or converting unready sets — we’ll be tracking that, as well.  As February 17 approaches, Nielsen will step up our reporting to better anticipate how viewing will be affected by the switch.

Get the latest data on digital readiness in the U.S.

Read Nielsen’s complete report on digital readiness in the U.S.

View complete data on digital preparedness in Nielsen’s 56 top local metered markets and 154 local diary markets.