Asian-American consumers don’t seem to get as much attention from the business press as some other populations. You just don’t see the same types of “Companies are ignoring [Consumer Group X] at their peril!” stories about them as you do about other groups.
Well, consider this my effort to increase that number by one, because after reading the press materials about a recent Nielsen report, it’s clear Asian-Americans warrant a lot more love from advertisers and marketers.
The report, Asian-Americans: Digital Lives and Growing Influence, identifies them as growing faster than the general population and maintaining income and education rates higher than any other racial or ethnic group. Their buying power has grown exponentially, to $986 billion, up 257 percent since 2000, versus 97 percent for the total U.S.
Per the report, Asian-Americans are showing notable growth in mainstream influence as social influencers, food bloggers and talented U.S. athletes. Data show the star power of these Asian-Americans and their ability to build audiences that are more representative of the American public.
Asian-Americans over-index by 124 percent for using Yelp, 92 percent for reading and contributing to blogs and by 51 percent for reading restaurant reviews.
Leading Asian-American celebrities who got their start on YouTube have high levels of awareness, likability and influence, according to Nielsen N-Score.
With a population of 21.8 million, Asian-Americans currently represent 7 percent of the total U.S. population. Much of the growth has come from immigration.
Asian-Americans are the most affluent and educated of any U.S. racial and ethnic group and have the highest average household income at $110,523. Fifty-two percent of Asian-Americans have at least a bachelor’s degree.
In 2017, California had the largest Asian-American consumer spending with $323 billion. The next highest spend state was New York at $88 billion, followed by Texas at $78 billion.
Asian-American households are more likely to include a married couple (63 percent), have children under 18 in the house (39 percent) and be multi-generational (26.7 percent).
Asian-American households spend more annually ($61,400) than the average U.S. household ($53,510).
Thirty-three percent of Asian-Americans say their cell phone is an extension of their personality and 73 percent note that text messaging is an important part of their daily life.
Maintaining ties
Asian-Americans present the added advantage to marketers of maintaining ties with home cultures where global leaders in smartphone manufacturing, social media and online commerce have headquarters. They outpace non-Hispanic whites in ownership of the latest digital devices and are also more likely to use their digital devices to purchase products online, listen to music and radio, watch TV or movies, as well as other daily lifestyle functions, Nielsen’s research shows.
“Year over year, as we develop this report, we have seen consistent growth and expansion in the Asian-American consumer segment,” said Mariko Carpenter, Vice President, Strategic Community Alliances, Nielsen, in a press release. “Asian-Americans’ growth, influence and spending power are key characteristics of a powerful consumer group that can make an impact on any industry or business. Now, with a growing Millennial population, we are seeing Asian-Americans rising as trendsetters and leaders in business, sports, fashion, food and entertainment. Marketers, take note.”