African-Americans Wield Considerable Consumer Power
African-Americans’ buying power is expected to reach $1.1 trillion by 2015, according to The State of the African-American Consumer Report.
This report – by the Nielsen Co. and the National Newspaper Publishers Association – shows a growing economic potential that presents an opportunity for Fortune 500 companies to examine and further understand this important, flourishing market segment. Likewise, when consumers are more aware of their buying power, it can help them make informed decisions about the companies they choose to support.
“Too often, companies don’t realize the inherent differences of our community, are not aware of the market size impact and have not optimized efforts to develop messages beyond those that coincide with Black History Month,” said Cloves Campbell, NNPA chairman. “It is our hope that by collaborating with Nielsen, we’ll be able to tell the African-American consumer story in a manner in which businesses will understand, and that this understanding will propel those in the C-suite to develop stronger, more inclusive strategies that optimize their market growth in Black communities, which would be a win-win for all of us.”
The report, the first of annual installments in a three year alliance between Nielsen and NNPA, showcases the buying and media habits and consumer trends of African-Americans.
“We see this alliance with NNPA as an opportunity to share valuable insights, unique consumer behavior patterns and purchasing trends with the African-American community,” said Susan Whiting, Nielsen vice chairman. “By sharing, for example, that African-Americans over-index in several key areas, including television viewing and mobile phone usage, we’ve provided a better picture of where the African-American community can leverage that buying power to help their communities. Likewise, the information points businesses in the right direction for growing market share and developing long range strategies for reaching this important demographic group.”
Consumer trends in the report include facts such as:
- With a buying power of nearly $1 trillion annually, if African-Americans were a country, they’d be the 16th largest country in the world.
- The number of African-American households earning $75,000 or higher grew by almost 64%, a rate close to 12% greater than the change in the overall population’s earning between 2000 and 2009. This continued growth in affluence, social influence and household income will continue to impact the community’s economic power.
- African-Americans make more shopping trips than all other groups, but spend less money per trip. African-Americans in higher income brackets, also spend 300% more in higher-end retail grocers more than any other high income household.
- There were 23.9 million active African-American Internet users in July 2011 – 76% of whom visited a social networking/blog site.
- 33% of all African-Americans own a smartphone.
- African-Americans use more than double the amount of mobile phone voice minutes compared to whites – 1,298 minutes a month vs. 606.
- The percentage of African-Americans attending college or earning a degree has increased to 44% for men and 53% for women.
The report is also available at www.nielsen.com and www.nielsen.com/africanamerican – Nielsen’s microsite that highlights tailored information to the African-American community.
Nielsen Holdings N.V. is a global information and measurement company with leading market positions in marketing and consumer information, television and other media measurement, online intelligence, mobile measurement, trade shows and related properties.
The National Newspaper Publishers Association, also known as the Black Press of America, is a 71-year-old federation of more than 200 black community newspapers from across the United States.