Consumers in the northeastern U.S. take their Thanksgiving feasts seriously.
Supermarket shoppers in markets like Hartford and New Haven, Conn., Pittsburgh, and Boston spend significantly more, percentage-wise, on ready-made Thanksgiving-related food products than average American consumers, Nielsen reported Thursday.
Hartford/New Haven residents were the top consumers of stuffing products, spending 44% more than average American consumers during the 52 weeks ending September 6, 2008.
During the same period, shoppers in Pittsburgh dominated sales of canned gravy, spending 119% more than average Americans, while Boston consumers spent 194% more than average Americans on New …

It’s time for that lesser-known American holiday tradition: the holiday food advertising bonanza — when ads for Thanksgiving staples, like stuffing mixes, pie crusts, gravy mixes, and cranberry sauces, crowd onto the media landscape.
In 2007, ad spending for stuffing mixes increased 10,800% from the late summer months (Q3 2007: $45,180) to the fall (Q4 2007: $4.9 million).
During the same time frame, ad spending on products within the Pie Crust category grew from literally nothing (Q3 2007: $0) to $3.3 million.
Meanwhile, ad spending within the Gravy Mix category grew from nothing …