A Nielson Report

May 20, 2019 – Asian Americans are among the most digitally enabled and tech-adopting consumers in the country–and that plays a big role in how this group is influenced, engages with brands, seeks out information makes purchase decisions and ultimately decides which products and services to buy.

BRANDS ABLE TO CONNECT WITH ASIAN-AMERICAN CONSUMERS ALONG THIS PATH CAN FORM MUTUALLY BENEFICIAL RELATIONSHIPS WITH A POWERFUL CONSUMER GROUP

This process is often described as the path to purchase. Brands able to connect with Asian American consumers along this path can form mutually beneficial relationships with a powerful consumer group, while also peeking around the corner at the future of consumption among all consumers.

There’s never been an easier time for marketers to engage with consumers. At the same time, however, the availability of technology and access to it means there’s also never been as much competition to reach consumers as there is today.

Compared with as few as 10 years ago, digital technology didn’t factor into the consumer’s path-to-purchase the way it does now.

Whether it be through recommendations from friends across social media, personalized ads we see when watching subscription video on-demand (SVOD) services or promotions that land in our inboxes because our favorite e-tailer remembered our birthday, digital touch points are everywhere. And they’re virtually screaming at us to get—and maintain—our attention.

THE ASIAN-AMERICAN POPULATION IN THE U.S. HAS GROWN BY 7 MILLION IN THE PAST DECADE

And while most Americans juggle several devices and actively contribute to the 2.5 quintillion bytes of data humans create each day, not everyone is moving full speed ahead with digital connectivity.

Thus, when brands look at the various consumer groups that comprise their market, they’re looking for consumers they can reach with personalized messages that resonate across the many devices consumers use to watch content and keep in touch with family and friends. And with Asian Americans, brands can get a glimpse at the future of consumption.

DEEP POCKETS ARE GETTING DEEPER

Before looking into this group’s specific tech behavior, it’s important to know how fast the Asian American population is growing, as well as how much spending power it has—and will have going forward.

Notably, Asian Americans have grown in population by 7 million people in the last decade alone, the most of any ethnic or racial group in the U.S. That increase represents a 45 percent uptick, significantly outpacing the 8 percent growth of the total U.S. population.

ASIAN AMERICANS’ BUYING POWER TO INCREASE TO $1.3 TRILLION BY 2023

In addition to growing as a demographic, Asian-American households are markedly bigger than the U.S. average—17 percent bigger, in fact. Their greater household size contributes to Asian Americans’ household income. In fact, Asian American households boast the highest incomes of any racial or ethnic group in the U.S.—incomes that have boosted the buying power of Asian Americans by 68 percent since 2010. And it’s not going to slow down: We expect Asian Americans’ buying power to increase to $1.3 trillion by 2023.