Special Report: The State of the African American Consumer
Written by Roger Madison Jr.   
Thursday, 02 February 2012

ImageFor entrepreneurs, Black History Month is an appropriate time to think about the African American Consumer as a key demographic audience for our products and services. Often, the most talked about characteristic of the African American consumer is the spending power. But how much do we really know about about the spending habits, the income, education, use of mobile technology, access to the Internet, online buying patterns, and preferences of this target audience?

The National Newspaper Publishers Association ( NNPA - national association of Black Newspapers) has partnered with The Neilsen Company to complete a comprehensive study that will better prepare entrepreneurs to effectively target segments of this consumer demographic to achieve our business goals. Some of the outcomes will surprise you, and refute some common myths. 

Here are some highlights:

  • 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.
  • 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 smart phone.
  • 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.

This study could help reshape your marketing efforts, and refocus your marketing efforts. It is a MUST READ for high performing Black entrepreneurs.

Click Here to dowload the complete study.

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written by Dave.R , February 19, 2012
These numbers are actually really very good. It is not easy for anyone to get into college these days and I think that these numbers are very promising for the entire world to know. I hope that these numbers continue to grow for people of all races, no matter where they are from or how much money they earn. Hopefully we will see further information soon.

 

It always seems to be race at the issue of marketing or college numbers especially in cannon street but when those numbers prove that race is not an issue nobody pays attention.




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