Marketing to African American  Consumers

Recent studies indicate that the African American demographic has been shifting, with a growing middle class. 

In Chicago, 36.7 % of the population is African American, more than 1 in 3 persons, and significantly higher than the 13% nationwide numbers!

Research has shown that the middle and upper income segments of the African American community have grown enormously in the past ten years.

As of March 1999 census numbers, nationwide, 25.2% of all African American married couple families had incomes from $50,000 to $74,999, and 22.6% of these married couples had income levels of over $75,000. 

African American Buying Power - a 287% gain  The Selig Center’s estimates and projections of buying power for 1990-2007 show that African American buying power will increase from $316.5 billion in 1990 to $852.8 billion in 2007, up 170% in that seventeen year range.  In March of 2006, Packaged Facts, released a study estimating that African American buying power would be at $981 billion by 2010.  The African-American middle and upper middle class are increasingly affluent, educated and professional.

Results of a study completed by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics on African-American progress in the professions indicates gains up to 470% from 1972 to 1991 in areas such as accounting, engineering, computer programming, law, medicine, journalism and management.

The Selig Center Study has projected that African American buying power will reach $852.8 billion by 2007, up from $645.9 in 2002. 

African Americans  the Internet

According to a study by Cyber Dialogue’s American User Survey,  African Americans are currently the largest ethnic minority group online with 4.9 million users. 

African American Internet users skew younger, wealthier, and more educated than their counterparts who are still  offline.  The average income of online African Americans is $58,300 and 18% have incomes of $75,000 or more. 

According to Nielsen Net Ratings, as of September 2001, African Americans accounted for over 8% of the online population.