Neilson Report 2011: African Americans Have 1 Trillion Spending Power

Neilson Report September 2011 WHY IS “BIG BUSINESS” HAWKING BLACK FOLKS? An interactive study of cause and effect

Written by: D.N. Shropshire, MA

The purpose for this annual report is to target marketing, advertising and purchasing methodologies and practices to maximize profitability. In other words, there are agencies out there specifically watching the spending habits of different cultures to determine the best ways to capitalize on the money that they are spending.

The facts according to the report are:

DEMOGRAPHICS

• The growth rate for African Americans outpaces that of the total population by almost 30%

• Affluence and influence has also increased given the 30% rise.

• The average age for African Americans is 32.1

• More that 47% are under 35 o There will definitely be a higher minority consumer population in the future and marketers are creating strategies to capture the different perspectives shared by this group of potential buyers.

• Slowing birth rates indicate an aging trend o According to the statistics provided in the report, there is a steady decline in population between ages 12-54. o What are some probable causes? AIDS, gun violence, cancer, the effects of over access perhaps (e.g., high blood pressure, heart attacks, obesity, and stress).

INCOME

CAUSE

The number of households earning $75,000 or more has grown by 63.9%. It is also interesting to note that 64% of African-American women are in the US labor force. African- Americans prefer warmer less in climate weather. A large percentage of the “total population is concentrated in Southeastern states, the major industrial cities in the Midwest, Houston and Dallas in Texas and Los Angeles California.”

Although the population of Black folks continues to have high concentrations in cities, over the last ten years census population trends indicates that dispersion to suburban areas and warmer regions of the country continues to occur. This also represents a population that appears to be flourishing and thriving despite media depictions.

EFFECT

Given these statistics, where is all of our money going? There is nothing, absolutely nothing to show for the $1 Trillion dollar buying power that we cumulatively possess. Real estate and other appreciating purchases are not frequently accessed by the African American community.

The most highly consumed products in the African American communities continue to be the shiny bobbles that the colonizers enticed those less aware of themselves out of THEIR AUTHENTIC SELVES. Women are spending more and often making less but have the roles reversed to the point of no return? The basic necessities are being covered by the earned income, with absolutely nothing left over for savings, college funds, trust funds, and money market accounts. By the looks of it, Black women are still holding the community together by managing the day to day operations.

According to the Neilson report the products women buy most are (in order):

 Health/Beauty (77%)

 Household cleaning

 Clothes

 Child care at home

 Managing child care outside of the home

 Food

 Pharmaceutical prescription/over the counter drugs

 Beverages

 Family finances

 Insurance

 Home electronics

 Locations for social activities

 Automobiles/transportation

 Personal electronics Men buy:

 Insurance

 Home electronics

 Automobiles/other transportation

 Personal electronics

EDUCATION

CAUSE

The percentage of African Americans attending some college or attaining a degree has grown for both men and women from 39.6% to 45.3% and 44.9% to 53.6% respectively. While both genders have done better, most of the achievement growth can be attributed to significant gains by African-American women. Increasing educational achievement and other factors have started to significantly raise the communities’ affluence.

EFFECTS

 Decreased desire to seek spiritual affiliation

 Demand to be treated equally yet very submissive in pursuing equality; “lulled to sleep”

 An intentional purge of African American history o Lost identity o Globalization without connection

 The generation of a synthetic culture

o The acceptance of a force fed perception of the black culture as reproduced by non African American influencers.

o The “pop-ification” of soul music MARRIAGE CAUSE The percentage of married African Americans has continued to decline.

The aforementioned is evidenced by: 1) a growth in the number of people who have never married and 2) an increase in the median ages of both men and women for their first marriage. The changes have been proportionately more dramatic in the African American demographic than in the total population.

EFFECT

An inherent distrust for one another continues to be an intangible that is an effective method to divide and conquer. Black people are waiting later to marry if they marry at all. Some of the marriage effect within the African American community may be exacerbated by the higher achievements in education and in employment success (indicated by higher household incomes) especially by women within this demographic.

Regardless of the specific reasons, it is clear that:

 fewer people are getting married or are remaining single well into their adult years.

 Marketers will be pitching products and services that cater to a population of single adult or non married households.

Interestingly, It is further acknowledged in the report that marketers realize that the women of this demographic are often single head of the household and primary decision makers. Children The number of households with children is declining at a higher rate than is occurring in the overall population. The growth in education attainment, the decline in married couples and the weakened economy are the probable causes of the aforementioned effect. The birthrate for African Americans has slowed causing increases in the median age of the group.

Many children are being raised in fatherless homes as result of high rates of divorce, decisions to have children without the presence of the opposite sex parent, increases in “alternative” sexualities, domestic conflict, incarceration, and/or other mortality issues (violence, drugs, alcohol, and/or sexually transmitted disease).

VIEWING HABITS

CAUSE

African Americans are 30% more likely to visit Twitter than any other population. The community watches 40% more television than all other populations.

EFFECT  Less one on one interaction

 Diminished social skill development  Decreased community service  Increased obesity o High rates of obesity related diseases and medical conditions;  Heart disease  High blood pressure  Diabetes  Decreased interaction/education to children and youth  Conditioning children and youth to partake in excessive mental inhibitors o The reinforcement that books are no longer “interesting” enough.

Conclusion How the marketers should advertise, what products are most purchased as well as overall buying habits were also delineated in the report. The world will see much more marketing directed towards black women. The increased images of people of color will have positive and negative effects on all consumers. There will likely be interpretation from non African American consumers for products that “aren’t for them”. The industry has been saturated for so long by Caucasian images that the transition will invariably be one met with apprehension. As the world globalizes the encroachment of people of color onto a previously Caucasian male dominated society is inevitable. There are questionable medical “discoveries” that are emerging in light of the causal extinction. Population control mechanisms are currently being utilized to curtail the unexpected new world order.

However, it is ill advised to become complacent with a false sense of victory. Should African Americans be offended, worried or cautious about the fact that Big Business has invested substantial time, talent and resource to monitor the consumer trends exacted? If they are monitoring buying habits than what else are they watching and for what purposes?