October Retail Sales Americans Pare Down, Stay Home

In October, as global financial markets plunged amid multiple bank bailouts, U.S. consumers showed marked caution at the cash register, focusing their purchases at food, drug, and mass merchandiser stores on basic necessities: food, medicines, and other household items.
Edible essentials, like bread, milk, cheese, and fresh produce, were among the top retail categories for October, according to Nielsen.
Discretionary items like carbonated beverages, candy, and snacks were also among the top sellers in October — but most of these categories showed year-over-year unit and dollar sales declines.
Top Categories: October 2008 (Dollar Sales: Food/Drug/Mass Merchandiser Sales)
Rank (by 2008 Dollar Sales) |
Top Food/Drug/Mass Merchandiser Sales Categories (October 2008) |
Dollar Sales: 4 Weeks Ending Nov. 3, 2007 |
Dollar Sales: 4 Weeks Ending Nov. 1, 2008 |
% Change (Year-Over-Year) |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | BREAD & BAKED GOODS | $1,290,938,580 | $1,399,971,505 | 8.4% |
2 | CARBONATED BEVERAGES | $1,357,519,242 | $1,353,136,144 | -0.3% |
3 | CANDY | $1,202,786,146 | $1,197,197,264 | -0.5% |
4 | MILK | $1,277,923,416 | $1,194,222,015 | -6.5% |
5 | PAPER PRODUCTS | $1,070,803,654 | $1,142,692,503 | 6.7% |
6 | SNACKS | $1,048,048,516 | $1,128,709,667 | 7.7% |
7 | FRESH PRODUCE | $1,069,576,129 | $1,115,999,283 | 4.3% |
8 | CHEESE | $928,000,074 | $1,020,525,908 | 10.0% |
9 | PACKAGED MEAT | $954,377,692 | $1,016,858,601 | 6.5% |
10 | PREPARED FOODS-FROZEN | $871,852,882 | $918,782,551 | 5.4% |
Source: The Nielsen Company (October 2007 and October 2008). | ||||
Note: Data includes UPC-coded products only. |
Top Categories: October 2008 (Unit Sales: Food/Drug/Mass Merchandiser Sales)
Rank (by 2008 Unit Sales) |
Top Food/Drug/Mass Merchandiser Sales Categories (October 2008) |
Unit Sales: 4 Weeks Ending Nov. 3, 2007 |
Unit Sales: 4 Weeks Ending Nov. 1, 2008 |
% Change (Year-Over-Year) |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | CARBONATED BEVERAGES | 708,655,391 | 670,846,579 | -5.3% |
2 | CANDY | 666,131,070 | 623,186,230 | -6.4% |
3 | BREAD & BAKED GOODS | 615,331,518 | 617,460,775 | 0.3% |
4 | SNACKS | 499,438,878 | 493,832,857 | -1.1% |
5 | FRESH PRODUCE | 461,920,897 | 454,394,973 | -1.6% |
6 | SOUP | 423,664,142 | 435,504,210 | 2.8% |
7 | MILK | 431,180,191 | 425,215,642 | -1.4% |
8 | VEGETABLES-CANNED | 431,952,857 | 423,169,047 | -2.0% |
9 | PACKAGED MEAT | 358,371,906 | 359,690,913 | 0.4% |
10 | YOGURT | 346,426,145 | 347,690,618 | 0.4% |
Source: The Nielsen Company (October 2007 and October 2008). | ||||
Note: Data includes UPC-coded products only. |
Products geared toward at-home use — canning supplies, baking ingredients, and wine — were among the fastest growing food, drug, and mass merchandiser retail categories in October, according to Nielsen.
That trend may signal a shift in consumer behavior, as Americans increasingly opt to save money by staying in and eating at home.
Fastest Growing Categories: October 2008 (Dollar Sales Growth: Food/Drug/Mass Merchandiser Sales)
Rank (by 2008 Dollar Sales Growth) |
Top Food/Drug/Mass Merchandiser Sales Categories (October 2008) |
Dollar Sales: 4 Weeks Ending Nov. 3, 2007 |
Dollar Sales: 4 Weeks Ending Nov. 1, 2008 |
% Change (Year-Over-Year) |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | CANNING/FRZING SUPPLIES | $6,570,566 | $10,062,285 | 53.1% |
2 | VEGETABLES & GRAINS-DRY | $80,136,141 | $108,062,429 | 34.8% |
3 | PASTA | $121,456,953 | $158,672,792 | 30.6% |
4 | FLOUR | $46,222,365 | $60,365,773 | 30.6% |
5 | MEAL STARTERS-REFRIG. | $1,256,507 | $1,558,324 | 24.0% |
6 | SHORTENING/OIL | $191,558,915 | $230,171,249 | 20.2% |
7 | COUGH AND COLD REMEDIES | $358,619,985 | $423,769,133 | 18.2% |
8 | MOTOR/VEHICLE CARE/ACCESSORIES | $109,194,105 | $126,917,244 | 16.0% |
9 | CHARCOAL/LOGS/ACCESSORIES | $56,983,609 | $65,826,241 | 15.5% |
10 | BUTTER & MARGARINE | $225,605,983 | $257,569,147 | 14.2% |
Source: The Nielsen Company (October 2007 and October 2008). | ||||
Note: Data includes UPC-coded products only. |
Fastest Growing Categories: October 2008 (Unit Sales Growth: Food/Drug/Mass Merchandiser Sales)
Rank (by 2008 Unit Sales Growth) |
Top Food/Drug/Mass Merchandiser Sales Categories (October 2008) |
Unit Sales: 4 Weeks Ending Nov. 3, 2007 |
Unit Sales: 4 Weeks Ending Nov. 1, 2008 |
% Change (Year-Over-Year) |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | CANNING/FRZING SUPPLIES | 1,769,780 | 2,480,355 | 40.2% |
2 | MEAL STARTERS-REFRIG. | 418,437 | 460,873 | 10.1% |
3 | COUGH AND COLD REMEDIES | 70,901,470 | 76,096,016 | 7.3% |
4 | WINE | 56,599,330 | 60,637,073 | 7.1% |
5 | FRESH MEAT | 53,545,853 | 57,119,011 | 6.7% |
6 | PASTA | 109,011,722 | 114,346,746 | 4.9% |
7 | TABLE SYRUPS/MOLASSES | 18,180,866 | 18,999,989 | 4.5% |
8 | PREPARED FOODS-DRY MIXES | 245,251,379 | 255,855,902 | 4.0% |
9 | VEGETABLES & GRAINS-DRY | 42,368,028 | 44,007,559 | 3.9% |
10 | VITAMINS | 53,957,077 | 55,860,918 | 3.5% |
Source: The Nielsen Company (October 2007 and October 2008). | ||||
Note: Data includes UPC-coded products only. |
Learn more about global consumers’ responses to the current economic crisis on Nielsen Wire.
https://www.nielsen.com/us/en/insights/article/2008/october-retail-sales-americans-pare-down-stay-home/