According to Nielsen, trips to U.S. retail outlets decreased by 1.4% in the third quarter of 2008, compared with Q3 2007. 
Declines were especially steep during the last four weeks of the quarter, which saw the collapse of Lehman Brothers, the near-collapse of Merrill Lynch, and the government bailout of AIG.
Traditional mass retailers (excluding supercenters), department stores, and office supply stores saw the most dramatic declines in the number of shopping trips last quarter vs. a year ago.  Trips to mass retailers dropped by 9.1%, trips to department stores were down …

Most global consumers agree that their countries have hit recession, but opinion on how long the recession will last remains mixed, Nielsen reported Wednesday.
While 53% of those surveyed by Nielsen think their country has hit a prolonged recession that will last more than 12 months, 18% of consumers, concentrated in a handful of emerging markets, like India, Vietnam, China, and Russia, told Nielsen they expect their countries to be out of recession within the next 12 months.
In contrast, consumers in Japan, Germany, Argentina, Mexico, Turkey, Italy, Taiwan, the U.S., and Spain were the …

Consumers who have been following the turmoil in the U.S. automotive industry are also flocking online to discuss fuel efficient vehicles and a potential merger between General Motors (GM) and Chrysler, according to Nielsen Online. 
An analysis of GM-related online buzz between September 1 and October 24, 2008 found that consumer chatter on Internet message boards and blogs has focused on how Detroit would change if GM and Chrysler joined forces — and which vehicles might survive the merger.
GM’s forthcoming electric car, the Chevy Volt, also drove a significant portion of GM’s online buzz during …

The troubled U.S. economy may be taking a toll on the growth of organic product sales, according to new data from Nielsen.
After several years of 20% to 30% sales growth, U.S. sales of organic products are showing the first signs of slowing.
While 52-week dollar sales of UPC-coded organics are up 21% vs. last year, the most recent four-week period ending October 4, 2008, shows growth of only 11.2%.  Last year, organics saw 27.1% sales growth during the comparable four-week period ending October 6, 2007.
Meanwhile, in Great Britain, organics sales growth has also slowed — to …

The global economic crisis reached a boiling point in October, but Americans are staying calm and cool, according to the results of a consumer sentiment study by Nielsen Claritas.
Of 3,000 people surveyed by Nielsen in early October, 84% reported being just as confident — or more so — in their primary financial institution as they were six months ago.  Ninety-five percent of those surveyed said they consider their financial assets at their primary bank to be relatively safe.
Although they remain confident in their personal banks, a significant percentage of the respondents said they had already …

Tightened belts and shrinking household budgets are the new norm, and American consumers have adjusted their shopping strategies accordingly.
With the holiday shopping season about to begin, Nielsen offers U.S. retailers and marketers five key insights to aid in attracting and retaining the loyalty of increasingly value-conscious American consumers.

Nielsen is forecasting sales of more than $98 billion for the November-December 2008 holiday retail season.  But amid worsening economic conditions, U.S. consumers are likely to be more cautious than ever with their spending. 
A recent Nielsen survey of 21,000 U.S. households found that 35% plan to spend less this year than they did in 2007.  Just 6% will spend more this year, while 50% say they’ll maintain the same level of spending from 2007.
Lower-income households reported large reductions in their holiday spending — but so did high income households.  In all, 37% …

Advertising by credit card services companies dipped significantly in the first three weeks of September, as the ongoing economic turmoil in the U.S. reached a boiling point, Nielsen Monitor-Plus reported Thursday.
Among credit card services companies, TV ad units for Sept. 1 – 21, 2008 were down by almost 24% versus the same time period last year.
Most of the top advertisers in the Credit Card Services category — including Capital One, Discover, Synovus, Washington Mutual, and Visa — reduced their TV television advertising activity in September.
Earlier in 2008, advertising by credit card …

Television audiences for four U.S. news networks spiked Monday afternoon after the House of Representatives voted to defeat Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson’s Wall Street bailout bill, Nielsen reported Wednesday. 
During the 2pm to 3pm (EST) daypart on Monday, the combined audiences for CNN, CNBC, FOX News, and MSNBC jumped by 71% over the average daily audience for that daypart between Sept. 1 and Sept. 28, according to Nielsen.  The 3pm to 4pm daypart saw an even larger jump (103%) over the average audience for the prior portion of September. 

Daypart
CNN, CNBC, FOX News, and MSNBC Combined TV Audience:
Sept. 1 – 28
(in 000s)
CNN, CNBC, FOX …

52.7 million viewers tuned in for President Bush’s speech on the U.S. economic crisis, which aired live Wednesday night from approximately 9:00pm to 9:15pm EST on ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC, Telemundo, Univision, CNBC, CNN, FOX News Channel, and MSNBC.

 
Rating
Average Audience
Number

All Households
 33.2
 38,031,000

Persons 2+
 18.2
 52,653,000

Source: The Nielsen Company (September 24, 2008)

Note: Sum of audience estimates for ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC, Telemundo, Univision, CNBC, CNN, FOX News Channel, and MSNBC.