African-American buying power is expected to peak in the next few years, reaching $1.1 trillion by 2015, says a new consumer report.
The numbers come from the State of the African-American Consumer Report, a joint study by Nielsen and The National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA), a federation of more than 200 Black community newspapers across the U.S.
The organizations hope that by providing in-depth insight into the economic potential of the African-American community, Fortune 500 companies will be motivated to examine and further understand the market segment and Black will be empowered to make more informed decisions about the companies they choose to support.
"Too often, companies don't realize the inherent differences of our community, are not aware of the market size impact and have not optimized efforts to develop messages beyond those that coincide with Black History Month," said Cloves Campbell, chairman, NNPA. "It is our hope that by collaborating with Nielsen, we'll be able to tell the African-American consumer story in a manner in which businesses will understand, and that this understanding will propel those in the C-Suite to develop stronger, more inclusive strategies that optimize their market growth in Black communities, which would be a win-win for all of us."
In addition to its speculation about increased buying power in the African-American community, the report also found that the number of African-American households earning $75,000 or higher grew by almost 64%, a rate close to 12% greater than the change in the overall population's earning between 2000 and 2009. The report also boasts other statistics about African-American economic potential including:
— With a buying power of nearly $1 trillion annually, if African-Americans were a country, they'd be the 16th largest country in the world.
— The percentage of African-Americans attending college or earning a degree has increased to 44% for men and 53% for women.

See the full report here.  

(Photo: REUTERS/Romeo Ranoco)