While beleaguered shoppers will be looking for ways to make the season bright, retailers can do their part by bringing some much needed holiday cheer to the shopping experience.

As retailers are trying to do more with less, are store brands exempt from consideration? While store brands turn a two-to-one profit (10% of assortment achieves 20% of sales), expanding in certain categories at the expense of branded products could actually hurt sales.

Price cuts are providing consumers with exceptional value, but they are showing up in the form of weakening or declining department, category and same-store store sales trends for many U.S. retailers.

Social media has not only transformed how consumers shop, but it has empowered them to advocate for the products and stores they love. Retailers need to communicate in a way that encourages trust, engagement, customer satisfaction and, ultimately, advocacy.

U.S. shoppers are trimming down shopping lists, downloading coupons, opting out of pricey goods and downshifting to less expensive product and channel alternatives. Three retail trends prevail in this recessionary economy.

The way consumers shop for everyday products continues its transformation towards the Web. In 2008, online retail accounted for approximately 7% of total retail sales in the U.S, with 1.5% of consumer packaged goods (CPG) spending done on the Web.

James Russo, Vice President, Global Consumer Insights, discussed the latest Nielsen consumer research, touching on everything from Blu-Ray players to home canning, during a discussion of the changing American consumer on a recent segment on CNBC.

Maya Swedowsky
In this week’s Nielsen Online Webinar, “Consumers in Control: Social Media Strategies for Retailers and Brands,” I will be highlighting two key social media opportunities for Retailers: listening and engaging.
No one can deny just how prevalent social media has become, from Facebook to Twitter, its meteoric growth is hard to ignore*. But why is it absolutely imperative that retailers pay attention and get involved? The answer is simple, and dates back to pre-Internet days: the purchase consideration process has always been a social endeavor. Before the advent of social …

The days of super sizing are over. The big players in grocery are opting for smaller, niche footprints in urban locations featuring a focus on packaged fresh food offerings. The idea is to make shopping more rewarding, and to reward consumers with coffee boutiques, new ideas, special discounts, free groceries and gas cards.

Unlike past recessions, few countries have been spared from the economic downturn.  Nielsen’s top industry thought leaders recently discussed how shopping patterns around the world have been affected by economic conditions, how consumer packaged goods manufacturers and retailers are adapting to the new marketplace realities and what lies ahead.
The participants were Todd Hale, Senior Vice President, Consumer & Shopper Insights, Nielsen U.S.; Jonathan Banks, Director, Retail Insights, Nielsen Europe; James Russo, Vice President of Marketing, Nielsen U.S., and; Jean-Jacques Vandenheede, Director, Retail Insights, Nielsen Europe.  Key themes were:
Consumers: It does …