Powerpoint Stats: The Multicultural Economy

The Selig Center for Economic Growth at The University of Georgia recently published "The Multicultural Economy 2008."  Here are some excerpts...

2008 Buying Power... buying power is essentially personal income available after taxes

• Combined buying power of African Americans, Asians, and Native Americans was $1.5 trillion—more than triple its 1990 level of $454 billion—which amounts to a gain of $1,030 billion or 227 percent.

• Black buying power rose from $590 billion in 2000 to $913 billion in 2008, and its forecast to reach $1.2 trillion in 2013.  African-American consumers’ share of the nation’s total buying power in 2013 will account for almost nine cents out of every dollar that is spent.

• Native American buying power in 2008 was $61.8 billion and its forecast to reach $84.6 billion in 2013. Entrepreneurial activity is one of the forces powering the growth of Native American buying power. The 2002 Survey of Business Owners showed that the number of American Indian-owned firms increased by 67 percent from 1997 to 2002 whereas the number of all U.S. businesses increased by only 10 percent.

• The Selig Center’s data for Asians combines two race categories, including those who identified themselves as Asian or as Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander. At $509 billion in 2008, the U.S. Asian market already outshines the entire economies of all but seventeen countries—
  it is smaller than the 2007 GDP of Turkey but larger than the GDP of Sweden.

• By 2013, one person out of every six in the U.S. will be Hispanic. Between 1990 and 2008, the Hispanic population increased by 107 percent compared to 14 percent for the non-Hispanic population and the 22 percent gain for the total population. Hispanics controlled about $951 billion in spending power in 2008.

Comments

[Coach Factory Store]

*When we vacation in the tropics, to escape cold winters, we are warmed by the sight of bright flowers basking in the sun.

[Jen Meade]

Interesting stats J Meade... thanks for posting!

Its interesting that minorities are/were thought of as the weaker race but look at our buying power. Look at the growth trend over the past few years in terms of our buying.

As more and more businesses are attempting to become "diverse", its important that they not only cater their product to the target audience, but also that their business is representative of the markets they serve. It almost makes what the Andersons are trying to accomplish seem justified. (Check previous blogs for more info on the Andersons) If there are two businesses producing the same product and one is minority owned or has a better sense of diversity awareness, which one do you think I will go to. These major corporations need to realize the shift in the market and acknowledge the groups that will be responsible for keeping their business operating.

They are going to need to solicit the expertise of marketing guru's... such as The Reason... to assist them in their marketing efforts. (No I didn't get paid for the plug) But its obvious that they are going to need to effectively target and penetrate that market.