• by Jack Loechner , Staff Writer @mp_research, October 22, 2003

Multicultural Marketing a Must

Published quarterly by the Simon S. Selig, Jr. Center for Economic Growth, The University of Georgia, as a service to the business and academic communities, the recent publication includes an article by Jeffrey M. Humphreys, Director, entitled The Multicultural Economy 2003, America's Minority Buying Power. Available in its entirety from the Terry College of Business, following are excerpts from this research.

The Selig Center's estimates and projections of buying power for 1990-2008 show that minorities-African Americans, Asians, Native Americans, and Hispanics-together wield formidable economic clout. in 2008, the combined buying power of African Americans, Asians, and Native Americans will be more than triple its 1990 level of $456 billion, and will exceed $1.5 trillion, a gain of $1.1 trillion or 231 percent. In 2008, African Americans will account for 61 percent of combined spending, or $921 billion. Over this eighteen-year period, the percentage gains in minority buying power vary considerably by race, from a gain of 345 percent for Asians to 227 percent for American Indians to 189 percent for blacks. All of these target markets will grow much faster than the white market, where buying power will increase by only 128 percent. The combined buying power of these three groups will account for 14.3 percent of the nation's total buying power in 2008.

The Selig Center projects that the nation's black buying power will rise from $318 billion in 1990 to $585 billion in 2000, to $688 billion in 2002, to $921 billion in 2008, up by 189 percent in eighteen years- a compound annual growth rate of 6.1 percent. The gains in black buying power reflect much more than just population growth and inflation. Of all the diverse supporting forces, perhaps the most important is the increased number of jobs across the nation.

The Selig Center projects that the nation's Native American buying power will rise from $19.3 billion in 1990, to $37.2 billion in 2000, to $45.2 billion in 2003, and to $63.1 billion in 2008. Despite this fast-paced growth, Native Americans will account for only 0.6 percent of all U.S. buying power in 2008. The Survey of Minority-Owned Business Enterprises by the Census Bureau in 2001 showed that the number of the number of American Indian-owned firms increased more than twelve times faster than the number of all U.S. firms In 2008, 14.8 million Americans-4.8 percent of the country's population-will claim Asian ancestry. The Selig Center projects that the nation's Asian buying power will more than quadruple over the eighteen-year period, climbing from $118 billion in 1990 to $269 billion in 2000, to $344 billion in 2003, and to $526 billion in 2008. Asian buying power also is propelled by the fact that Asians are better educated than is the average American, and therefore Asians hold many top-level jobs in management or professional specialties.

Selig Center projections reveal that Hispanic consumers will control about $653 billion in spending power in 2003. In fact, Census 2000 showed that more than one person in eight who lives in the U.S. is of Hispanic origin. Over the eighteen-year period, 1990-2008, the nation's Hispanic buying power will grow at a compound annual rate of 8.8 percent. Hispanic buying power ($778 billion) will exceed African-American buying power ($773 billion) in 2005.

For more information, contact the Selig Center for Economic Growth, Terry College of Business, The University of Georgia P.O. Box 1764 Athens, GA 30603-1764