The New Realities of the Black Consumer MarketTags: consumer, culture, demographics, population

SUBMITTED BY: Peter Francese, Founder, "American Demographics"

Images of any consumer market segment should be refreshed at least annually using the new census results. But this is an imperative for marketers trying to reach Black consumers especially because their portrayal in the entertainment media is so often not who they really are.

Here are 10 facts from the 2010 Census about Blacks in the United States that may surprise you:

1. More than 1 in 8 U.S. consumers is Black, totaling 42 million (some identified as both Black and another race).
2. Their growth is well above average—up 15.4 percent vs. 9.7 percent total population rise since 2000.
3. Black consumers are younger: Their median age is 32.4 years vs. a U.S median of 37.2.
4. A larger fraction of Black adults (35 percent) are Millennials than the 30 percent U.S. average.
5. Of Black householders, 44 percent are younger than age 45 vs. 38 percent of all householders.
6. Census 2010 counted 14.1 million Black households, second only to White households.
7. Since 2000, the number of Black households grew faster (up 17.2 percent) than the U.S average of 10.7 percent.
8. Seventy-five percent of Black consumers live in the nation’s top 100 metropolitan areas vs. 66 percent all consumers.
9. The Black consumer populations grew most rapidly in the South and West, up 18 percent in those areas since 2000.
10. Fifty-five percent of Black consumers now live in the South, where they are 1 in 5 consumers.

Black Americans are a very important component of the U.S. consumer marketplace for several reasons. They are younger than the total population, and more of them are in their prime household formation and heavy consumer spending years. Blacks also have been increasing most rapidly in major metropolitan areas and in the South and West regions where jobs are expanding and economic activity is rising.