WASHINGTON (BUSINESS WIRE/(BLACK PR WIRE) — The buying power of African AmAfrican-American Consumer Report,” which was recently released, in collaboration with Nielsen, a research firm, and the National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA), trade association for more than 200 black community newspapers across the U.S. ericans is expected to reach $1.1 trillion by 2015, according to the “The State of the African-American Consumer Report,” which was recently released, in collaboration with Nielsen, a research firm, and the National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA), trade association for more than 200 black community newspapers across the U.S.
The growing economic potential presents an opportunity for Fortune 500 companies to examine and further understand this important, flourishing market segment. And when consumers are more aware of their buying power, it can help them make informed decisions about the companies they want 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 is the first of annual installments in a three-year alliance between Nielsen and the NNPA. It showcases the buying and media habits and consumer trends of African Americans.
The recent 41st annual Legislative Congressional Black Caucus Foundation Conference week’s activities set the backdrop for the release of the report.
Flanked by civic, business and legislative leaders, Nielsen and NNPA executives spoke about the relevance and importance of the findings in the report and the fact that it will be distributed in NNPA’s more than 200 publications, reaching millions of readers and online viewers.
“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, vice chairwoman of Nielsen.
“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,” Whiting said. “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 the following:
• With a buying power of nearly $1 trillion annually, if African Americans were a nation, they would be the 16th largest in the world.
• The number of African-American households earning $75,000 or higher grew by almost 64 percent, a rate close to 12 percent 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 percent 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 and 76 percent of them visited a social networking or blog site.
• 33 percent of all African Americans own a smart phone.
• African Americans use more than double the amount of mobile phone voice minutes compared to whites — 1,298 minutes a month versus 606.
• The percentage of African Americans attending college or earning a degree has increased to 44 percent for men and 53 percent for women.
The report is also available at www.nielsen.com and www.nielsen.com/africanamerican
Photo: NNPA chairman: Cloves Campbell
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