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 …

From October to November 2008, online consumer references to a potential government bailout of U.S. domestic automotive manufacturers grew by more than 380%, according to an analysis of auto-related blog discussions released Wednesday by Nielsen Online.
In mid-November, following GM released its quarterly earnings report – which highlighted the gravity of the Big Three Automakers’ financial situation, and online consumers began comparing the potential auto bailout to the U.S. government’s bailout of the financial industry or the Chapter 11 benefits/consequences of the airline industry.
Around November 21, the first Congressional bailout hearings spurred consumers’ opinions …

In October, as global financial markets plunged amid multiple bank bailouts, U.S. consumers showed marked caution at the cash register, focusing their purchases at food, drug, and mass merchandiser stores on basic necessities: food, medicines, and other household items.
Edible essentials, like bread, milk, cheese, and fresh produce, were among the top retail categories for October, according to Nielsen. 
Discretionary items like carbonated beverages, candy, and snacks were also among the top sellers in October — but most of these categories showed year-over-year unit and dollar sales declines.
Top Categories: October 2008 (Dollar Sales: Food/Drug/Mass Merchandiser Sales)

Rank
(by 2008 Dollar Sales)
Top Food/Drug/Mass Merchandiser Sales Categories
(October 2008)
Dollar Sales:
4 …

Ken Cassar & Pete Blackshaw
A lot of folks have seen the Black Friday and Cyber Monday releases that we’ve put out, but we’ve also been tracking Web traffic on a daily basis – in total, by category, and by retailer since the Monday before Thanksgiving. Let me share a little bit more data:
Traffic was up by 10 percent on both of the high profile days, where consumers expected that they would be able to find deals. This is certainly better than some might have feared given the …

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 …

For the past few years, we’ve seen the transition from random weight to pre-packaged, UPC-coded meat.  In 2009, as more retailers look for ways to cut costs, fresh meat will continue shift from the butcher to the shelf. 
Look for less meat to be cut in the store, and more UPC-coded meat to be packaged centrally and sold on the shelf. 
Retailers will need to decide whether they want to compete on price or rely on their butchers and deli counters to create differentiation and customization.
Read Nielsen’s complete 2009 Industry Outlook in …

Web traffic from home and work to sites included in Nielsen Online’s Holiday eShopping Index increased 10% year over year on Cyber Monday, Nielsen Online reported Tuesday.
Unique visitors to the sites included in the Index reached 35.9 million, a 13% increase over this year’s Black Friday Web traffic.
Many of the top online retail destinations on Cyber Monday were the same as those on Black Friday. eBay drew the largest unique audience (10.6 million), while Amazon and Wal-Mart claimed second and third places, with 9 million and 5.2 million unique visitors, …

As credit card companies continue to raise fees on retailers, there is more motivation than ever before to offer discounts for shoppers paying cash.
Look for convenience stores to take the lead on cash discounts, as many already offer lower gas prices for cash purchases.
As other retail channels offer cash discounts, the credit card companies may get enough pressure to reduce fees for retailers.
Read Nielsen’s complete 2009 Industry Outlook in “Consumer Insight.”
View the latest issue of “Consumer Insight.”

Coupons are already well-established as a promotional vehicle in the U.S., with coupon-clipping Americans comprising 86% of households and driving 89% of all-outlet dollar sales, according to Nielsen.
But that doesn’t mean manufacturers and retailers shouldn’t be looking for ways to make it simpler for households to receive and redeem coupons. 
Writing in the December issue of Nielsen’s “Consumer Insight” online newsletter, Todd Hale, Senior Vice President, Consumer & Shopper Insights, Nielsen, outlines what today’s coupon shopper can expect as new technologies revolutionize couponing methods and mediums.

Nielsen Online reports that traffic from home and work to the Holiday eShopping Index increased 10 percent year over year on Black Friday, growing from 28.8 million unique visitors in 2007 to 31.7 million unique visitors in 2008 across more than 120 representative online retailers.
“Even with the weakening economy, an unstable stock market and a rising unemployment rate, Black Friday traffic to online retail sites grew at a double digit rate this year,” said Ken Cassar, vice president, industry insights, Nielsen Online.
Black Friday Online Conversations and Consumer Perceptions
To gauge …