Black, Asian and Hispanic Consumers Are the Fastest-Growing Group in Consumer Economy

Advertisers looking to get the most out of their bucks should be looking to multicultural consumers.

According to a Nielsen report released Wednesday, multicultural consumers are exhibiting tremendous spending power and are the fastest-growing segment of the country’s “consumer economy.”

The report, “The Multicultural Edge: Rising Super Consumers,” looked at the spending habits of African Americans, Asian Americans and Hispanic consumers and found that aside from the approximate $3.4 trillion they’ve spent on mainstream products to date, the influence that these consumers of color have on white consumers is notable.   

Monica Gil, a business executive at Nielsen who looks at multicultural growth, spoke about the significance of that influence. “The unprecedented influence of multicultural consumers on the behavior of nonmulticultural shoppers is upending outdated assumptions and enlarging and expanding the multicultural market opportunity, which may be the key to the future,” Gil explained.

The Nielsen press release goes on to explain that if advertisers want to understand what the spending market will do over the next several years, it will behoove them to get inside the minds of black, Asian and Hispanic consumers: “The report suggests that by understanding the cultural essence that drives multicultural super consumer behavior today, marketers and advertisers can better understand future market trends.”

Multicultural consumers also skew younger and, despite the spending power they wield, make up only 38 percent of the U.S. population, although they’re expected to be in the majority by 2044.

These consumers have a disproportionate spending influence in the dairy, baby food and diapers, laundry supplies and detergents, school supplies, and other family-goods industries.

Read more at Nielsen.