When it comes to holiday baking, consumers in the northern U.S. reach for baking supplies — like readymade frosting, cake decorations, chocolate chips, and food coloring, while southerners prefer to stick to the basics: flour and sugar.
Last November and December, supermarket shoppers in northern markets like Hartford and New Haven, Conn. and Buffalo and Rochester, N.Y. spent almost one-third more, percentage-wise, on baking supplies than average American consumers, Nielsen reports.
During the same period, shoppers in southern markets like Birmingham, Ala. and Memphis dominated sales of flour, spending 106% and 78% more, respectively, than average Americans.
Consumers in Memphis and Birmingham also dominated sales …

In New England — according to a recent analysis from Scarborough Research, a joint partnership with Nielsen and Arbitron.
The study, which asked respondents in 81 U.S. cities to select the political party label that best describes how they see themselves – regardless of how they may have voted in the past, found that Boston, Providence, R.I., and Hartford, Conn. have the highest percentages of adults who consider themselves to be “Independents.” 
In contrast, Pittsburgh, Lexington, K.Y., and Oklahoma City, O.K. have the smallest percentages of self-identified Independents. 

Coupon clipping is on the rise, according to Nielsen.
In June, a Nielsen survey of 50,000 consumers found that nearly one-third used grocery coupons once a week or more.  In December 2007, just one-fourth of those surveyed were clipping coupons at that rate, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported Thursday. 
According to a separate study by Scarborough Research, a joint partnership with Nielsen and Arbitron, Milwaukee residents reported the highest rates of coupon clipping — 40% of all city households use grocery coupons once a week or more. 
Rochester, NY ranked second, with 38% of …