Special Report: The State of the African American Consumer

As businesses look for opportunities to grow their companies and gain market share, it is critical that they understand new and emerging demands from consumers. It is also important for consumers to understand the value of their purchasing power as well.

To address the growing needs of this diverse consumer group, Nielsen and the National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA) have developed The State of the African-American Consumer Report.

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Demographics

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.
The percentage of African-Americans attending college or earning a degree has increased to 45% for men and 53% for women (adults 25+).

Television

The average African-American household spends about seven hours, 12 minutes daily watching TV – 213 hours a month – which is 40% more viewing time spent than the overall population.
12.5 million African-American households helped make last year’s Super Bowl XLV the most watched Super Bowl ever.

Mobile

African-Americans use more than double the amount of mobile phone voice minutes compared to Whites – 1,298 minutes a month vs. 606.
African-Americans send/receive on average 907 text messages.
33% of all African-Americans own a smart phone

Consumer

African-Americans may spend less on each shopping trip, but they make the most trips – 167 – annually of any other group.
African-Americans in higher income brackets, spend 300% more in higher-end retail grocers, more than any other high income household.
African-Americans over-index on purchases of health and beauty products, household cleaning items, clothes, food and electronics to name a few.

Online

During July 2011, there were 23.9 million active African-American internet users.
African-Americans are 30% more likely to visit Twitter.
Top online purchases for African-Americans in the last six months included:
- Airline tickets/reservations
- Hotel reservations
- Any clothes/shoes/accessories
- Women’s clothes/shoes/accessories
- Men’s clothes/shoes/accessories