The African-American Consumer Market, 9th Edition

The African-American Consumer Market, 9th Edition

With a population of 44 million and buying power over $1 trillion in 2013, African-Americans are a key segment in an American economy that increasingly depends upon the needs and preferences of multicultural consumers. In the face of daunting economic difficulties, African-American consumers are more positive than other Americans about their own personal financial situation and are more optimistic about the future of the American economy. Yet the African-American consumer segment remains woefully undermarketed to, and companies that persist in their failure to capture the attention of black consumers also risk missing out on the tens of millions of dollars African-Americans spend annually on everything from food and beverage products to apparel to mobile technology and video games.

The 9th edition of Packaged Facts' The African-American Consumer Market focuses on how African-American consumers are responding to the challenges of today’s economy as they shop in department stores, supermarkets, supercenters, and other retail outlets as well as online. The report analyzes the forces shaping the purchase decisions of African-American shoppers and sheds light on key areas such as how black consumers decide where to shop and what influences them while they are shopping. Additionally, The African-American Consumer Market highlights the attitudes and behavior of affluent African-American shoppers. The report also forecasts the growth of the buying power of African-Americans through 2017 and provides a detailed demographic profile of the African-American population

Scope

Packaged Facts generally has defined the African-American market as including the buying power of individuals who identify in Census Bureau data as black or African-American, regardless of whether they also identify as Hispanics. This definition, is consistent with the data categories used by forecasting groups such as the Selig Center for Economic Growth at the University of Georgia. The terms “black” and “African-American” are used inter-changeably in this report.

Methodology

This report is based on information collected directly from firms active in the African-American market as well as a thorough analysis of relevant industry and trade publications, including a cultivation of findings published by the Nielsen Company and Selig Center. Primary data on African-American consumer behavior are drawn from the Fall 2012 Experian Marketing Services National Consumer Study (NCS). The report also cites data from several updated estimates and analyses of the African-American population released by the Census Bureau in 2011 and 2013.