As the economy worsened in 2008, U.S. consumers cut discretionary spending — and shifted basic purchases to value-oriented brands and retailers.  Dollar stores and private label brands saw gains — but many other retailers and manufacturers suffered through dramatic declines.
Is the outlook any brighter for the new year?  Food marketing expert Phil Lempert, of SupermarketGuru.com, offers his take on what consumers and retailers can expect in 2009.
Nielsen Wire: How did consumer habits change in 2008 — and how should retailers adjust?
Phil Lempert:
In 2008 shoppers used more coupons, bought more store …

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 …

Among the top computer and consumer electronics websites for November, computer giants Microsoft and Apple easily drew the largest unique audiences, according to Nielsen Online. 
Visitors to Apple’s site logged the longest average stay-times.

Rank
(by UA, Nov. 2008)
Top 10
Computer & Consumer Electronics
Web Brands:
Nov. 2008
Unique Audience:
Nov. 2008
(in 000s)
Time Per Person (hh:mm:ss)

1
Microsoft
95,543
0:45:44

2
Apple
52,909
1:12:27

3
Adobe
29,472
0:05:19

4
Hewlett Packard
23,435
0:09:58

5
Best Buy
22,138
0:11:28

6
Flickr
19,304
0:09:06

7
CNET
17,935
0:06:23

8
Dell
17,058
0:18:38

9
Circuit City
16,609
0:08:18

10
Mozilla
14,400
0:02:23

Source: Nielsen Online (November 2008 ).

Note: Web properties reported at either the brand or channel market level and can include multiple URL’s.

In recent years, white spirits have dominated Bev-Al sales in the U.S., but now brown spirits — led by whiskey — appear to be making a comeback.
According to Nielsen, U.S. sales growth for whiskey and brown spirits is outperforming the growth rate of the overall spirits category in 2008.
Whiskey growth rates have been rising steadily this year, with whiskey dollar sales increasing nearly $85 million or 4.4% in 2008 — up from 2.3% a year ago.  At the same time, whiskey volume, while declining a year ago, is now showing growth.
In …

For the past few years, we’ve seen the transition from random weight to pre-packaged, UPC-coded meat.  In 2009, as more retailers look for ways to cut costs, fresh meat will continue shift from the butcher to the shelf. 
Look for less meat to be cut in the store, and more UPC-coded meat to be packaged centrally and sold on the shelf. 
Retailers will need to decide whether they want to compete on price or rely on their butchers and deli counters to create differentiation and customization.
Read Nielsen’s complete 2009 Industry Outlook in …

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 …

Sales of private brands are up 10% this year — to $80.3 billion in the U.S., Nielsen reported Friday.
Private label dollar sales are being driven primarily by higher commodity pricing — especially in staple categories that are dominated by private brands. But in recent weeks, private label unit sales have also grown — a sign that consumers are starting to shift away from established brands in search of better deals.
Among private label food brands, flour (+35%), baby food (+33%), and fresh eggs (+28.2%) showed the largest dollar percent change during …