Whether you voted for Barack Obama or John McCain, a recent Nielsen Homescan analysis shows notable differences in the shopping habits and holiday spending expectations of the American voter. The panel’s voting intent (55% Obama / 45% McCain) was similar to the actual nationwide election results (53% / 47%) and mirrored the state-by-state victories in all but three of the 48 contiguous states.

Travel And Spend

Nielsen Homescan panelists who favored Obama, tended to make more frequent trips across all outlets combined and in traditional retail channels, outmatched only by McCain voters when it came to trips to Walmart. While McCain voters may have made fewer trips, they typically outspend their Democratic rivals in terms of per-trip dollars.

Holiday Retail Outlook

While “hope” was a big theme of the Obama campaign, the results show that McCain voters are slightly more optimistic about holiday spending. Sixty-three pecent of McCain voters plan to spend same or more for the 2008 season, while 38% of Obama voters indicated that they would spend less. McCain voters also expressed more optimism about spending on entertainment inside and outside the home.

View sample data from Buying & Shopping Preferences For 2008 Voters.