The column below, by Tom Pirovano, Nielsen, was recently published in Nielsen’s “Consumer Insight” online newsletter.
1. Take higher margins in less price-sensitive categories
Ranking categories based on purchase frequency is a fast and inexpensive way of identifying categories that are least sensitive to higher pricing.  Shoppers are less likely to remember pricing on products purchased only once or twice per year. For higher-priced products, however, shoppers are more likely to shop around for the best deal.
2. Lower the thermostat in stores this winter
Your customers will be wearing coats anyway.  This will …

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 …

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 …

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 …

Fall TV premieres, coupled with coverage of the presidential election and the financial crisis, boosted online video viewing at all four networks’ websites in September.
NBC.com, which grew 312% month-over-month, saw the largest September increase in video viewers, followed by FOX Broadcasting and ABC.com, with 165% and 105% growth, respectively, Nielsen Online reported Thursday.

Rank
(by UV) 
TV Network
Web Property
Unique Viewers
(in 000s)
% Change:
Unique Viewers
(Aug. – Sept. 2008)

1
NBC.com
5,557
312%

2
ABC.COM
5,246
105%

3
CBS Television
3,296
38%

4
FOX Broadcasting
1,371
165%

Source: Nielsen Online, VideoCensus (August – September 2008).

Note: Data includes progressive downloads and excludes video advertising.

“A combination of series and season premiers, political news and parodies, and coverage …

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 …

The ongoing financial crisis has had far-reaching effects in the U.S., where it has taken a toll on everything from Americans’ shopping habits to their retirement savings.
Could the dire economic conditions also be changing the way Americans watch TV?
Yes and no, according to a Nielsen report released Friday, which found that Americans are watching more cable news this year than they did last year. Between September 15, 2008 and October 19, 2008, tuning to cable news networks almost doubled, versus the same period last year, according to Nielsen.

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 …