African American

Millennial (18-35) women are 52% more likely than their male counterparts to agree that they "love to shop" (44% vs. 29%), per results [pdf] from an Urban Land Institute (ULI) survey conducted with Lachman Associates. While young men are more likely than young women to say that shopping is a necessary chore that they can deal with (15% vs. 9%), they're also more likely to say they shop when it's necessary, and enjoy it when they do (51% vs. 45%). Overall, the study indicates that America's youth enjoy shopping on the whole, which might explain why they're more likely than other generations to identify as "spenders" rather than "savers." Read more »

The Great Recession widened the wealth gap between whites and minorities in the US, according to [pdf] a new report from the Urban Institute. Between 2007 and 2010, Hispanic families lost 44% of their average wealth (measured as total assets minus total liabilities and debts), compared to a 31% loss for blacks and a relatively more modest 11% decline for whites. Hispanics were particularly hard hit by the real estate collapse, with their average home equity plummeting by 49%. Read more »

Here's something marketers can't ignore: the cultural make-up of the US is changing, and quickly. Recent Census Bureau data has highlighted that by 2060, close to 1 in 3 Americans will be Hispanic. For those wanting a closer-term projection, a new study [executive summary download page] from Geoscape forecasts that 19% of the population (excluding Puerto Rico) will be of Hispanic origin by 2018. That's up from 17.4% this year. Read more »

A comprehensive study of multiculturalism in America by Geoscape determines that Asian and Hispanic households will outspend non-Hispanic White households in their lifetimes. The study (executive summary download page here) pegs consumer spending for the remaining lifetime of an average Asian household at roughly $2.4 million, compared to slightly less than $2 million for Hispanics, about $1.6 million for Whites, and $1.3 million for Blacks. Read more »

A survey of 10,000 US consumers conducted by the Temkin Group finds that Americans are holding steady in terms of their TV consumption and non-work-related internet use, but are spending more time with other activities such as reading books and accessing the internet via a mobile device. At 3.9 hours daily, TV viewing remains the most time-consuming media activity, followed closely by going on the internet with a computer, not for work, at 3.8 hours. Both are unchanged from last year. Read more »

[Editor's Note: This is the latest quarterly update to this article, this time containing Q4 2012 data and trend analysis.] There's a strong perception that with the rise of social media, mobile device usage, and other such digital trends, youth have put TV on mute. According to the most recent cross-platform report [download page] from Nielsen, TV consumption is dropping by a larger amount every quarter, but it's still not a seismic shift. The 18-24 group, for instance, watched a weekly average of about 23 and a quarter hours of traditional TV in Q4 2012, about 2 hours and 20 minutes less than they did in Q4 2011. That's about 20 minutes less per day. Read more »

Nielsen's decision to expand its ratings system was broadly dissected (including here) and now Nielsen has done everyone a favor and profiled the small portion (less than 5%) of US households that did not fit its traditional definition of a TV household, but will start being included in measured samples for the 2013-2014 season. Noting that the number of "zero-TV" households has more than doubled from 2007 to exceed 5 million, Nielsen reveals [download page] that three-quarters of the homes have at least 1 TV set, but two-thirds get their content on other devices. Read more »

78% of American teens (aged 12-17) now own a cell phone, and 47% of those teens own a smartphone. That translates to 37% of all teens having a smartphone, up from 23% in 2011, per new data [pdf] from the Pew Research Center's Internet & American Life Project. Along with that increasing adoption of mobile phones, the survey reveals that 25% of teens are "cell-mostly" internet users, meaning that their cell phone is the primary way for them to access the internet. Read more »

Black adults are more likely than the average adult to regularly engage in a number of in-store mobile activities, according to [login page] new Prosper Insights & Analytics data. For example, they're 44% more likely to check in for a discount, 37% more likely to scan a QR code to get more information about a product, and 27% more likely to compare prices and purchase from another retailer's website using their smartphone or tablet. Read more »

Action and adventure movies are the most likely to draw a crowd of moviegoers, finds Nielsen in newly released data. Asked the types of movies they like to see most in theaters, 61% of American moviegoers chose action and adventure flicks, with comedy (50%) rating as the second-most popular. While action and adventure films get the nod from all races and ethnicities, the data shows that some genres appeal more to some groups than others. Read more »