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WASHINGTON, D.C. – African-Americans’ buying power could reach as much as $1.1 trillion by 2015, according to the latest research from Nielsen Co. and The National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA).

These numbers signify a huge opportunity for marketers looking to further understand this market demographic, according to “The State of the African-American Consumer Report,” which added that when consumers are more aware of their buying power, it can help them make more informed decisions about various companies and brands.

“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 of the 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.”

The number of African-American households earning $75,000 or more grew by almost 64 percent, a rate close to 12-percent greater than the change in the overall population’s earning between 2000 and 2009, according to Nielsen’s report.

“This continued growth in affluence, social influence and household income will continue to impact the community’s economic power,” Nielsen said.

Other consumer trends in the report include:
• African-Americans make more shopping trips than all other groups, but spend less money per trip. African-Americans in higher income brackets also spend 300-percent more in higher-end retail grocers than any other high-income household.
• There were 23.9 million active African-American Internet users in July 2011, 76 percent of whom visited a networking or blog site.
• Thirty-three percent of all African-Americans own a smartphone.
• African-Americans use more than double the amount of mobile phone voice minutes compared to whites: 1,298 minutes per month vs. 606 minutes per month.
• The percentage of African-Americans attending college or earning a degree has increased 44 percent for men and 53 percent for women.

With buying power of nearly $1 trillion annually, according to Nielsen, if African-Americans were a country, they would be the 16th largest in the world.