The boneless/skinless chicken breast—perhaps the most versatile poultry cut—also is proving to be one of the most economically resilient.

In a September consumer survey tracking purchasing activity over the previous 12 months, 21 percent of respondents who had changed their frequency of eating chicken noted that they were preparing a lot more boneless/skinless breasts, with just 5 percent indicating that they were preparing a lot less.

Total sales of boneless/skinless chicken breasts, meanwhile, also are on the upswing.

Hoffman Estates, Ill.-based FreshLook Marketing Group LLC reports there were 271 million pounds of the breasts sold during the third quarter of 2009, a 7.4-percent increase from the year-earlier period.

Shoppers to a lesser degree also indicated that they were preparing a lot more drumsticks, thighs and wings.

The online quantitative study of 500 adults was sponsored by Bethesda, Md.-based Shugoll Research and Chicago-based Midan Marketing. Panelists were geographically and demographically representative of the U.S. population and have primary grocery shopping responsibility in their households.

Overall, 18 percent of consumers stated they are purchasing a lot more chicken, while 5 percent noted they are buying a lot less.

In contrast, 13 percent reported they are purchasing a lot more beef and 10 percent are buying a lot less, while just 7 percent stated they are purchasing a lot more pork, with 14 buying a lot less.

Total chicken volume sales were up 6.6 percent for the 52 weeks ending 11/22/09 compared to the year-earlier period and dollar sales increased 3.3 percent, FreshLook reports. The average price of chicken fell 3.3 percent during the time frame.

“More chicken is being sold as household budgets become an issue,” says Michael Uetz, Midan Marketing principal. “Chicken is a beneficiary of consumers trading down to lower-priced proteins.”

Indeed, many consumers see chicken as providing the greatest value when compared to pork, beef or fish, adds Merrill Shugoll, Shugoll Research president.

The average price of boneless chicken breast was $3.09 a pound for the 52 weeks ending 11/29/09, according to FreshLook, a decrease of 4.2 percent.

The average per pound price of chicken drumsticks, thighs and wings, meanwhile, was $1.30, $1.59 and $2.14, respectively.

Other average per pound prices during the period were $2.79 for ground beef, $2.64 for beef chuck roast and $2.89 for pork chops.

To further boost chicken sales, retailers should merchandise wider arrays of poultry and offer novel cooking suggestions by attaching recipes to labels, Shugoll says.

“Chicken doesn’t yet have the overall allure of beef, which many shoppers see as the ‘sexy’ protein,” she adds.