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 of sugar, spending 57% and 46% more, respectively, than average Americans on that most basic of holiday baking ingredients, according to Nielsen.

West Texas, Little Rock, Ark., Nashville, Tenn., and Atlanta were also among the top markets for flour and sugar sales.  Shoppers in these markets spent 30% to 52% more on flour, and 19% to 28% more on sugar than average Americans.

Top 10 U.S. Markets: Baking Supplies

Top 10 U.S. Markets: Flour

Top 10 U.S. Markets: Sugar

Nielsen’s Dollar Sales Index reflects a category’s share of total dry grocery sales for a Nielsen market versus the total U.S., using supermarket dollar sales over the most current 52-week period.

The Memphis market’s index of 157 for the Sugar product category, for example, reveals that supermarkets in that particular market sell 57% more sugar, relative to total dry grocery purchases, than the national average.

“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 accessories product dollar sales.

Other categories skewing to rural households include insecticides, pesticides, and rodenticides, as well as fresh meat, flour, sugar/sweeteners, pet food, and carbonated beverages.

Nielsen’s Marketing Tip:
Retailers targeting rural households may want to promote these categories (above) with feature ads, displays, and product assortments. Manufacturers should consider cross-promoting and cross-couponing items in these categories.

Nielsen’s Dollar Volume Index identifies demographic groups that account for above or below average dollar volume purchases for a given product category.

Data for the index was collected via Nielsen’s Homescan consumer panel, a nationally representative sample of U.S. households that provides a stratified, proportionate, non-biased representation of the U.S. population. Homescan panelists scan all of their UPC coded purchases after every shopping trip, allowing Nielsen to capture their complete shopping and buying behavior.