In 2013, the buying power of the Black consumer market is $1.0 trillion, and is expected to reach $1.3 trillion by 2018. Despite having lower household incomes than other consumer groups, Black consumers spend a tremendous amount of their earnings on things like apparel and footwear, electronics, and entertainment. Black consumers love to shop – it’s one of their favorite pastimes, a way for them to escape from life’s pressures and a social outing. They shop more frequently, are willing to travel farther, and enjoy shopping around for the best deals.

This report meets the following objectives related to the shopping experience of Black consumers:

• What are their general attitudes toward shopping and spending?

• What are some of the types of stores they shop at for certain types of products?

• Aside from rational shopping triggers, what are some of the emotional reasons that compel Black consumers to buy what they buy?

• How receptive are Black consumers to shopping online? What are some of the things that appeal to them when they shop in-store?

• What are some promotions that are most effective at generating sales?

For the purposes of this report, Mintel has designed the shopping experience of Black consumers to cover their behaviors and attitudes toward shopping online as well as at brick and mortar stores.

Mintel has many reports related to this topic, and they include some of the following reports:

• Black Consumers and the Perimeter of the Grocery Store – US, February 2014

• Back to School Shopping – US, January 2014

• Grocery Retailing – US, February 2014

• Shopping for Beauty Products – US, December 2013

• The Black Apparel and Footwear Consumer – US, December 2013

• Black Consumers Attitudes toward Car Buying – US, September 2013

• Online and Mobile Shopping – US, June 2013

• Shopping Malls – US, March 2013

• Black Consumers Share of Wallet – US, January 2013

For the purposes of this report, Mintel commissioned exclusive consumer research through GMI to explore consumer consumption of attitudes and behaviors toward the shopping experience. Mintel was responsible for the survey design, data analysis, and reporting. Fieldwork was conducted in February 2014 among a sample of 1,003 Black adults aged 18+ with access to the internet.

Mintel selects survey respondents so that they are proportionally balanced to the entire US Black adult population based on the key demographics of gender, age, household income, and region. Please note that our surveys are conducted online and in English only. Hispanics who are not online and/or do not speak English are not included in our survey results.

Mintel has also analyzed data from Experian Marketing Services, Fall 2013 Simmons NHCS (National Hispanic Consumer Study) Adult Study (12 month). The Experian Marketing Services, Simmons NHCS was carried out during November 2012-December 2013, and the results are based on the sample of 23,689 adults aged 18+, including 2,065 Black adults aged 18+. The results are weighted to represent the US adult population.

While race and Hispanic origin are separate demographic characteristics, Mintel often compares them to each other. Please note that the responses for race (White, Black, Asian, Native American, or other race) will overlap those that also are Hispanic, because Hispanics may be of any race.

Expenditure estimates are derived from the CEX (Consumer Expenditure Survey), which is conducted annually by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. The estimates are calculated using three-year rolling averages to reduce the volatility that can result from relatively small subsamples and items that are infrequently purchased.

• Estimates in this report are based on consumer data (estimated average expenditures aggregated to the total market), and may not be comparable to estimates in other reports that are based on point-of-sale data or retailer revenues.

• Note that the CEX measures spending by “consumer units” rather than households or individuals. See the Terms section for a definition of “consumer unit.”

The following is a list of abbreviations used in this report:

Generations are discussed within this report, and they are defined as:

* also known as Generation Y or Echo Boomers

The terms Black and African-American have been used interchangeably in this report.