That’s Trillion with a T! According to the Nielsen study titled “Resilient, Receptive And Relevant,”

“Black buying power continues to increase, rising from its current $1 trillion level to a forecasted $1.3 trillion by 2017. Black buying power has seen an 86 percent increase since 2000 and accounts for 8.7 percent of the nation’s total. The growth in black buying power stems in part from an increase in the number of black-owned businesses as well as from an uptick in education among the African-American population, which leads to higher incomes. Despite historically high unemployment rates, Blacks have shown resiliency in their ability to persevere as consumers.”

African-Americans will continue to be significant consumers and heavy influencers of goods and services purchased in the United States. The challenge as an entrepreneur is determining how you can tap into this significant amount of purchasing power to provide value and make a profit.

Some additional interesting stats from the study that should be considered when targeting the black community to tap into this buying power:

• No group watches more television than African-Americans (37% more) who lean heavily toward programming that includes diverse characters and casts. Black women watch more television than their male counterparts.
• Of the $75 billion spent on television, magazine, internet, and radio advertising, only $2.24 billion of it was spent with media focused on Black audiences. Black businesses, agencies and media continue to wrestle with this disparity as it is not reflective of the overall, high consumption patterns and behavioral trends of the Black consumer.
• Other demographic segments have identified Blacks as a driving force for popular culture, with 73% of Whites and 67% of Hispanics who believe Blacks influence mainstream American culture.
• The Black population grew 64% faster than the rest of the country since 2010, amassing a total of 43 million people; this includes individuals who are Black and another race.
• The reverse migration continues as younger, college-educated Black professionals head South. Entrepreneurs have an opportunity to develop a “southern strategy” to connect with the more than 10 million African-Americans in 10 key southern markets.

Not surprisingly, the largest portion of non-edible-goods spending in the black community went towards Ethnic Hair and Beauty Aids. This is a competitive industry, but an industry that also still holds opportunity due to the large amount of consumption.

What are some products or services that Black entrepreneurs can own and operate to directly tap into this significant amount of buying power?

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