Collaboration is the theme vividly painted at The Nielsen Company’s Consumer 360 morning kick off – as attendees found themselves consumed in data illustrating a continuously changing consumer mindset, fed by an ongoing shift in consumer psychology. And the message was clear from the start: collaboration at the retail-vendor level will be key the successfully navigating this challenging, changing landscape.

Nick Lake is VP, Group Client Director, The Nielsen Company
Summer’s coming. Beer season. And as grocery retailers develop strategies to help maximize their sales during the 2009 summer selling season, it’s clear there are a number of unanswered questions about the economy that could impact your business: Have job losses begun to stabilize? Which way will the stock market go today? Have we hit rock bottom yet?
If we had a crystal ball, it would be easy to determine the answers to those and other questions about our economy. But it’s …

Each new day seems to bring more bad news about the economy.  With uncertainty and fear looming, American consumers have cut back on their shopping trips and changed the way they spend their hard-earned money.  For food retailers and consumer packaged goods manufacturers, these new trends do not necessarily spell doom.  If they know how to address consumers’ changing needs and can successfully engage them by appealing to their desire for value, significant opportunities remain.
Even though some analysts predict that the U.S. economy may have hit bottom and are cautiously …

A troubled economy doesn’t necessarily mean declining wine sales, Danny Brager, vice president, beverage alcohol, Nielsen, writes in a recent Progressive Grocer column. 
Brager cites Nielsen research showing that, while almost 50% of consumers have reduced their overall spending, wine sales remain healthy.
Growth of premium wines has declined slightly, but the category remains strong overall — perhaps because consumers tend to view wine as an affordable luxury, Brager notes. 
If the current trend continues, he concludes, wine may emerge as a ”recession-resistant” category.