Asian American buying power in 2016 was $891 billion. By 2021, it’s expected to reach $1.2 trillion, in part because of a growing population of Asian American women, a Nielsen report released this week shows.
The average income of the Asian American household grew 36 percent between 2005 and 2015. As a result, the average Asian American household income is $105,604, compared to $84,075 for white-only households.
“For brands, this fast-growing, young and digitally fluent consumer segment’s ability to influence trends cannot be ignored,” Mariko Carpenter, Nielsen’s vice president of strategic community alliances, said in a statement. “Asian American females are the group to watch. At 19 percent, Asian American women comprise the largest group to immigrate to the United States between 2010 and 2015. Highly educated and adventurous — Asian American females are not only discovering new products and experiences as they explore the world, but they are also using social media to create shareable content that influences the marketplace.”
According to the report, the U.S.-born Asian American female population has grown 60 percent since 2005, from 2.8 million to 4.5 million. The population of foreign-born Asian American women also grew, by 43 percent from 4.6 million to 6.6 million in the same time period — according to the report, China and India have both surpassed Mexico as sources of U.S. immigration since 2013.
Seventy-eight percent of U.S.-born Asian American females are age 34 or younger, while 70 percent of foreign-born Asian American females are ages 35 or older.
Eighty-one percent of Asian American women agree they are “always looking for new ways to live a healthier life.” Perhaps as a result, those aged 18 to 34 spend 21 percent more on health and beauty aids than non-Hispanic white women in the same age range.
Asian American women are also the most highly educated women of all U.S. women — 49 percent of Asian American women who are 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or higher, the report found.
Forty-six percent of Asian American said their goal is to make it to the top of their profession — the top three industries for Asian American employment are health care (18 percent), scientific and tech services (12 percent), and art, entertainment and recreation (12 percent).
Some more interesting stats: The top three primetime cable TV programs from Aug. 29 of last year to Jan. 29 of this year among Asian American women were AMC’s “Walking Dead” (340,000 viewers), CNN’s “Election Night In America” (339,000 viewers), and CNN’s “Debate Night In America” (169,000 viewers). Within the same time, the top broadcast TV programs among Asian American women were “America’s Got Talent” and “The Big Bang Theory.”
“Asian American women are advancing on multiple fronts, from food and wellness to business ownership to technology,” the study states. “As part of the most diverse and fastest-growing ethnic and racial groups in the U.S., the visibility and influence of Asian American women will only continue to grow exponentially in myriad ways.”
Nielsen is a global performance management company that provides information on what consumers watch and buy. The report was Nielsen’s fifth on Asian American consumers, and is broken down into three sections: Asian American women trends in buying and media consumption; Asian Americans’ influence on mainstream U.S.; and growth among Asian Americans along with other statistics on Asian American women.
