Thanksgiving Rules In The Northeast, But Southerners Claim Largest Piece Of Frozen Pie Sales

Consumers in the northeastern U.S. take their Thanksgiving feasts seriously.

Supermarket shoppers in markets like Hartford and New Haven, Conn., Pittsburgh, and Boston spend significantly more, percentage-wise, on ready-made Thanksgiving-related food products than average American consumers, Nielsen reported Thursday.

Hartford/New Haven residents were the top consumers of stuffing products, spending 44% more than average American consumers during the 52 weeks ending September 6, 2008.

During the same period, shoppers in Pittsburgh dominated sales of canned gravy, spending 119% more than average Americans, while Boston consumers spent 194% more than average Americans on New England’s signature fruit condiment, cranberry sauce, according to Nielsen.

But when it comes to Thanksgiving dessert, northeasterners can’t compete with their neighbors to the south, who purchased the lion’s share of frozen pies.

Little Rock, A.R., Birmingham, A.L., and Memphis, Tenn. topped Nielsen’s ranking of the top markets for frozen pie sales.  Shoppers in these three markets spent 75% to 102% more on frozen pies than average Americans.

Rank (by highest index)	Top 10 U.S. Markets: Stuffing Products	Dollar Sales Index Vs. Total U.S. Sales
1	HARTFORD/NEW HAVEN	144
2	SYRACUSE	141
3	BUFFALO/ROCHESTER	140
4	ALBANY	139
5	PHILADELPHIA	138
6	CLEVELAND	138
7	PITTSBURGH	132
8	BALTIMORE	130
9	RALEIGH/DURHAM	126
10	DETROIT	126
Lowest Rank	BIRMINGHAM	39
Source: The Nielsen Company (September 8, 2007 – September 6, 2008).
*Note: “Dollar Sales Index” is based on each market’s category share of UPC-coded, total dry grocery sales vs. total U.S. sales.

Rank (by highest index)	Top 10 U.S. Markets: Frozen Pies	Dollar Sales Index Vs. Total U.S. Sales
1	LITTLE ROCK	202
2	BIRMINGHAM	182
3	MEMPHIS	175
4	LOUISVILLE	173
5	OKLAHOMA CITY/TULSA	172
6	INDIANAPOLIS	159
7	NEW ORLEANS/MOBILE	147
8	RALEIGH/DURHAM	136
9	JACKSONVILLE	135
10	SALT LAKE CITY/BOISE	135
Lowest Rank	OAHU	27
Source: The Nielsen Company (September 8, 2007 – September 6, 2008).
*Note: “Dollar Sales Index” is based on each market’s category share of UPC-coded, total dry grocery sales vs. total U.S. sales.

Rank (by highest index)	Top 10 U.S. Markets: Canned Gravy	Dollar Sales Index Vs. Total U.S. Sales
1	PITTSBURGH	219
2	PHILADELPHIA	219
3	ALBANY	183
4	BUFFALO/ROCHESTER	180
5	DETROIT	177
6	HARTFORD/NEW HAVEN	171
7	MILWAUKEE	169
8	BALTIMORE	168
9	CLEVELAND	162
10	NEW YORK	159
Lowest Rank	SAN ANTONIO	21
Source: The Nielsen Company (September 8, 2007 – September 6, 2008).
*Note: “Dollar Sales Index” is based on each market’s category share of UPC-coded, total dry grocery sales vs. total U.S. sales.

Rank (by highest index)	Top 10 U.S. Markets: Cranberry (Shelf Stable)	Dollar Sales Index Vs. Total U.S. Sales
1	BOSTON	194
2	HARTFORD/NEW HAVEN	174
3	BIRMINGHAM	154
4	ALBANY	147
5	MEMPHIS	145
6	PHILADELPHIA	140
7	NEW YORK	133
8	MILWAUKEE	124
9	TAMPA	111
10	LITTLE ROCK	110
Lowest Rank	SAN ANTONIO	49
Source: The Nielsen Company (September 8, 2007 – September 6, 2008).
*Note: “Dollar Sales Index” is based on each market’s category share of UPC-coded, total dry grocery sales vs. total U.S. sales.

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 Hartford/New Haven market’s index of 144 for the Stuffing product category, for example, reveals that supermarkets in that particular market sell 44% more stuffing products, relative to total dry grocery purchases, than the national average.