• by Sarah Mahoney  @mahoney_sarah, May 19, 2011

Looks like American consumers may be weathering high gas prices better than many expected. "Both the improving job market and strengthening economy are helping consumers cope better now than during the recent economic downturn," writes Todd Hale, SVP/ Consumer & Shopper Insights at The Nielsen Company, in his latest blog.

It's not that they are not reacting, he writes, "it's just that 2011 is not 2008." Some 67% of the 27,000 consumers surveyed say they are combining errands to reduce their driving and control their gas spending, making trip compression the No. 1 consumer response to pricey gasoline. Back in 2008, when gas prices soared and Nielsen conducted a similar survey, 71% said they were cutting down on driving by combining errands.