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, especially within growing segments, wherever they do business. As the population of the United States evolves to become more ethnically diverse, the complexity of such an effort has grown. To help close the gap and give insight as to how to address the needs of the growing diverse base, Nielsen—along with the National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA)— developed this report to better illustrate the qualities of the African-American community, the business opportunities that exist, and the best methods for a productive connection between businesses and this community.

The African-American population is, today, the largest racial minority group in America, with a population of close to 43 million. This market segment’s growth rate continues to exceed the overall population’s growth and is making continued gains in the area of education and income. The collective buying power of the African-American population is projected to be at $1.1 trillion by 2015. Collectively the group over-indexes in several key categories (television viewing, mobile phone usage and trips to grocery channels) and exerts a large influence on popular culture and trends, indicative of the high growth industries of the future. The three areas of focus for this report include a review of demographic characteristics, a survey of the programs and mediums favored by the group, and a look at overall consumer packaged goods buying behavior.