Nielsen: Asian Americans dominate online marketplace

ASIAN AMERICANS have quickly adapted to the new technology to become perhaps the most plugged-in demographic online.

According to Asian-Americans: Digital Lives and Growing Influence, a Nielsen report released today (March 8), Asian Americans continue to use tech to have much more influence beyond their relatively small numbers in the U.S.  AAPI online

Although they represent about 6% of America's population, Asian Americans are the fastest growing ethnic group and their' consumer buying power has grown exponentially to $986 billion, up 257% since 2000, versus 97% for the total U.S.

Asian-American consumers are growing faster than the general population and maintaining income and education rates higher than any other racial or ethnic group. Asian Americans are having a sizable impact on society and culture, increasing influence on what America eats, watches, reads and listens to.

"Year over year, as we develop this report, we have seen consistent growth and expansion in the Asian-American consumer segment," said Mariko Carpenter, Vice President, Strategic Community Alliances, Nielsen. 

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"Asian Americans' growth, influence and spending power are key characteristics of a powerful consumer group that can make an impact on any industry or business. Now, with a growing Millennial population, we are seeing Asian Americans rising as trendsetters and leaders in business, sports, fashion, food and entertainment. Marketers, take note," said Carpenter.

This year's report highlights Asian-American consumers embrace of new media and technology—including the platforms consumers use to watch their favorite shows, what they buy online, and which apps they choose to enhance their everyday lives. 

According to the annual Nielsen report, Asian Americans are showing incredible growth in mainstream influence as social influencers, food bloggers and talented U.S. athletes. Data in this report show the star power of these Asian Americans and their ability to build audiences that are more representative of the American public.

Smartphones and other mobile devices are core to the Asian-American lifestyle and identity. Thirty-three percent of Asian Americans say their cell phone is an extension of their personality, and 73% note that text messaging is an important part of their daily life. 

Asian-American consumers are embracing new apps, trying new devices, and creating content on new platforms. Thanks to the democratization of media, Asian-American consumers are making successful careers—building their own powerful brands—as social media influencers and content creators. 

Asian Americans present the added advantage to marketers of maintaining ties with home cultures where global leaders in smartphone manufacturing, social media and online commerce have headquarters. 

They outpace non-Hispanic whites in ownership of the latest digital devices and are also more likely to use their digital devices to purchase products online, listen to music and radio, watch TV or movies, as well as other daily lifestyle functions.

Asian-American households are heavy buyers of non-food items for the home, using online providers to get exactly what they need with increased satisfaction and ease of comparison shopping. Asian Americans spend more online than non-Hispanic Whites on many categories, including hair care, oral hygiene, skin care, housewares, computer and electronic products and household supplies.

Highlights of 'Asian Americans: Digital Lives and Growing Influence'

Digital Dominance

• Asian-Americans are leaders when it comes technology consumption, purchasing and usage. They over index non-Hispanic Whites at 66% for owning smartwatches, 39% for streaming media players, 18% for game consoles and 17% for smart TVs.
• Both Millennial and older generation Asian Americans are spending less time on live and DVR TV and using computers.
• Asian Americans are spending more time using multimedia devices, watching video on smartphones and using apps and the web on smartphones.
• Ninety-four percent of Asian-American households own a cell phone (compared with 86% of the total population). Seventy-three percent agree that text messaging is an important part of their daily life.
• Asian Americans generally say the internet is a main source of entertainment for them by 31% over non-Hispanic Whites
• Asian Americans 18+ use leading smartphone apps, such as Yelp, Venmo, Lyft, Uber, Skype and WhatsApp more than any other ethnic group.

Big Spenders Online

• Asian Americans are active online shoppers—spending an average amount of $1,151 on internet purchases in the last 12 months, 20% higher than online spending by non-Hispanic Whites.
• Millennial Asian-Americans made most online purchases in the categories of clothing or accessories, outpacing non-Hispanic White purchasing in this category by 13%. They also over index the highest in buying computer products (63%), airline tickets (53%) and consumer electronics (52%) online.
• Asian-Americans also over index in online spending in many categories including hair care, oral hygiene, skin care, housewares, computers and equipment.
• Online spending by Asian-Americans grew significantly in skin care (40%), kitchen gadgets (37%), cosmetics (47%) and hair care (18%) in 2017, compared to the previous year.

Influence and Impact.

• AsianvAmericans over index by 124% for using Yelp, 92% for reading and contributing to blogs and by 51% for reading restaurant reviews.
• Food popularity has expanded to mainstream audiences and the growth in Asian-American restaurants has created new dining out trends and options.
• Leading Asian-American celebrities who got their start on YouTube have high levels of awareness, likability, and influence, according to Nielsen N-Score.
• In sports, nearly 6% of the U.S. athletes at the 2018 Winter Olympics were Asian-American.
• In politics, at the beginning of 2017, there were 18 Asian-American and Pacific Islanders in Congress, a record high. That number is almost certain to increase this year with almost 60 AAPI candidates running for a Congressional seat.

Thriving and Diverse:

• With a population of 21.8 million, Asian-Americans currently represent 7% of the total U.S. population. Much of the growth has come from immigration.
• Taken as a whole, Asian Americans are the most affluent and educated of any U.S. racial and ethnic group, and have the highest average household income at $110,523. Fifty-two percent of Asian Americans have at least a bachelor's degree.
• In 2017, California had the largest Asian-American consumer spending with $323 billion. The next highest spend state was New York at $88 billion, followed by Texas at $78 billion.
• Asian-American households are more likely to include a married couple (63%), have children under 18 in the house (39%) and be multi-generational (26.7%).
• Asian-American households are also more likely to have internet access than the total population.
• Asian-American households spend more annually ($61,400) than the average U.S. household ($53,510).

"Nielsen's commitment to providing a nuanced and distributed view of diverse consumers for their clients and the community is illustrated in this rich and robust body of work," said Edwin Wong, co-chair of Nielsen's Asian Pacific American External Advisory Council, and Senior Vice President, Research and Insights for BuzzFeed. 

"This report, which underscores the impact of Asian-American consumers in terms of consumer power and broader influence, will help Nielsen's clients and the industry understand preferences to better meet our needs."

For more details and insights, download Asian Americans: Digital Lives and Growing Influence.

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