African Americans watch more hours of television, make more shopping trips for food and over-index on mobile phone usage than any other demographic group in the United States.
Here are the findings: African Americans used their televisions an average of seven hours and 12 minutes each day (the most among ethnic groups); Asian Americans used their TVs an average of three hours and 11 minutes each day (the least among ethnic groups), and the total U.S. average of daily TV usage is five hours and 11 minutes.
Other key insights include African Americans used DVD players and video game consoles more than average, but whites were more likely to use DVRs. Some 40 percent of white families own DVRs, which is higher than average.
While it seems like a reason to raise an eyebrow, not so fast.
Nielsen’s senior vice president of public affairs and government relations, Cheryl Pearson-McNeil, offers a holistic perspective on why this information is important for both consumers and advertisers.
“It’s a good thing to know where your power lies,” Pearson-McNeil reassures during an interview with rolling out earlier this year.
Nielsen and The National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA) held a press conference at the National Press Club where they distributed a 24-page “State of the African-American Consumer Report.” This report, an in-depth comprehensive collection of data and analysis that focuses on the consumer behavior of African Americans, is the first of its kind.
Attendees included Pearson-McNeil; Susan Whiting, vice chair and chief diversity officer of Nielsen; Dr. R. B. Holmes Jr., NNPA regional director and publisher of the Capitol Outlook; Cloves Campbell, chairman of NNPA and various members of the press.
The event coincided with the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation Inc.’s Annual Legislative Conference in Washington, D.C. –yvette caslin
