The Power of Asian American

The release of 2020 U.S. Census data confirms the importance of multicultural consumers to U.S. marketers. Since the 2000 Census, the U.S. non-Hispanic White population has decreased while the population of all multicultural groups has grown significantly. As the facts and figures in this report make clear, Asian Americans represent an important component of this growth. The Asian American population is momentous for many reasons, but perhaps most notably for its rapid growth rate, its rich ancestral diversity and its superior buying power.

Before the pandemic, Asians were already a critical growth driver of the U.S. economy. Their population in the U.S. has grown to over 21.1 million and now represents 6.2% of the total U.S. population. Notwithstanding their relatively small representation in the U.S. population (compared to Black and Hispanic populations), Asians accounted for almost 18% of the U.S. population growth since the 2000 Census. They have been the fastest-growing population segment with 103% growth between 2000-2023.

Ancestral diversity among Asians in the U.S. is quite noteworthy. The largest ancestry groups Asian Americans are Chinese (including Taiwanese) at 23.6%, Asian Indian at 23% and Filipino representing 15.7% of the U.S. Asian population. The U.S. Census Bureau reports population statistics for Asians from more than a dozen other countries (and groups Asians from many other countries together into "Other Asian" categories). This diversity presents opportunities as well as challenges. Asians are often "conveniently" reported as one diverse group; however, each nation is distinct in terms of both language and culture. According to the Claritas Asianicity™ Acculturation segmentation system, around 46% of the U.S. Asian population is acculturated, while 19% are bicultural and 35% are less acculturated and prefer to retain their native cultural heritage and language.

The most compelling business case for engaging Asian consumers is their buying power. Asians are disproportionately present within the upper-income ranks, with more than 50% of Asian households (HHs) reporting income above $100k per year. Median Asian HH median income is $103,903, around 41% above the median HH income for all U.S. HHs. Perhaps the single most convincing data point that could drive economic investment in the Asian American consumer segment is their anticipated spending over their remaining lifetimes. Claritas Consumer Spending Dynamix analysis indicates that the average U.S. Asian household will spend > $1 million more than the average U.S. household over the remainder of their lifetimes.

Mining the quantitative and qualitative data on Asian American consumers can result in the understanding needed to engage this coveted population segment in an authentic manner. Determining which mix of traditional and digital media is key, as Asians tend to be tech-savvy and digitally connected. The ability to link Asian identifiers to cultural preferences and to steer media campaigns towards the appropriate channels and devices will certainly prove worthwhile to your company’s bottom line. To gain a fair share of this increasingly important segment, marketers need to know how, when and where to engage Asian consumers,in-culture and in-language, as appropriate.

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Report by Nielson in collaboration with Gold House

AANHPI viewers are 79% more likely than the general
population to say they feel underrepresented in TV and films.

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