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 …

Rural American households spent more than twice as much on canning and freezing supplies, 47% more on automotive products, and 38% more on tobacco and accessories than average American households during the 52 weeks ending June 28, 2008, according to Nielsen.
“Plain Rural Living” households — a Nielsen Spectra lifestyle segment that includes households in small towns and rural areas with the lowest population densities — account for 21% of all American households.  These households represented 43% of canning/freezing supplies product dollar sales, 31% of automotive product dollar sales, and 29% of tobacco and …