Business
African American purchasing power expands
Black purchasing power in the United States. SOURCE/ReachingBlackConsumers.com
(Business Wire) – African American buying power continues to increase and is expected to rise from its current US$1 trillion level to US$1.3 trillion by 2017, according to Resilient, Receptive and Relevant: The African American Consumer 2013 Report. The report was released late last week by Nielsen, a leading global provider of information and insights into what consumers watch and buy, in collaboration with the National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA) during the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation’s 43rd Annual Legislative Conference.
Highlights from the report include:
– Fifty three percent of the 43 million African Americans in the United States are under the age of 35, and the African American population has grown 63 percent faster than the general market population
– African Americans watch more television (37 percent); make more shopping trips (8 percent), purchase more ethnic beauty and grooming products, read more financial magazines (28 percent) and spend more than twice the time on personal hosted websites than any other group
– Although 81 percent of African Americans said they believed that products advertised using African American media are more relevant to them, only 3 percent or US$2.24 billion of the US$75 billion spent on television, magazine, Internet and radio advertising was with media focused specifically on African American audiences
– How companies can avoid a “one-size-fits-all” approach to better connect with African American consumers.
The findings were announced by Cheryl Pearson-McNeil, senior vice-president, public affairs and government relations for Nielsen, Cloves Campbell, chairman of the NNPA, a 73-year-old federation of 200 Black community newspapers; and A. Shuanise Washington, president and chief executive officer of the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation.
“The consumer insights this year are some of the most varied yet,” said Pearson-McNeil. “From store brand loyalty, to top watched television networks, which mobile apps are most popular, a deep dive into how African Americans spend their digital time, and how companies can reach 10 million African American consumers by developing a southern regional strategy – this year’s report is really a compelling read for both advertisers and marketers.”
