Here in Northwest Arkansas we’re very conscious of Hispanic consumers, who are becoming an increasingly important segment of our population here, as well as across the nation. We don’t always think about Asian American consumers, though.
We’re not the only ones who could say that. Watch the conversations about marketing around the web and count the number of discussions of Hispanic consumers compared with Asian American consumers. There’s a good reason for that. The Hispanic population of the U.S. reached 54 million in the most recent census data, mostly because of new Americans born in the U.S. to Hispanic families. Asian Americans account for just 19 and a half million people, and much of the growth is from new immigrants.
However, when it comes to growth, Asians and Hispanics are fairly even — with Asians pulling out ahead in this century.
So how do Asian Americans differ from the population as a whole when it comes to marketing and purchasing? Here are some characteristics of Asian American consumers from Nielsen:
- more educated
- more affluent
- early adopters of new technology
- successful as entrepreneurs
- family oriented
- more likely to save
- less price conscious
- less responsive to promotions
- more responsive to in-store deals
- more brand conscious
- speak English well but speak another language at home
- consume more native-language media
- more likely to use multiple screens for media
- more likely to watch video on mobile devices
- spend more time online and read more pages
- higher smartphone usage
- more engaged with YouTube
- more engaged with video games
- more likely to timeshift — to watch media on their schedule, not broadcast schedules
- spend more on fresh produce and healthy food
- spend more on baby products
- spend more on beauty products
It’s worth remembering that the Asian American population ranges from Japanese Americans whose families have lived in the U.S. since the 1800s to newly arrived Indians, from Southeast Asian refugees to visitors from the former U.S. territory of the Philippines. Like the rest of the people in our rich cultural tapestry, Asian Americans are a varied group.
Still, if you haven’t been thinking of this population as one of your target demographics, you may be missing some marketing opportunities.
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