Report: African-Americans Reading More Magazines

MPA says segment spending power to hit $1 trillion by 2012.

By Jason Fell
02/11/2008

African-Americans read more magazines than per month than other ethnic groups, according to a report released today by the Magazine Publishers of America on advertising and engagement in the African-American magazine segment.

Among its findings, the report (“African-American/Black Market Profile”) indicates that the percent of African-Americans who read magazines (86 percent) read more issues per month than the general market—11 issues compared to eight. The report fins also that 85 magazines were launched from 2002 to 2006 that targeted African-Americans.

In terms of spending power, African-American spending will pass $1 trillion by 2012, according to the report. African-American teens spend an average of $96 per month, 20 percent more than the average U.S. teen.

As for ad engagement, African-Americans recall ads on average nine percent more than the market average, and took action in response to advertising 15 percent more than average, the report says.

The report projects that African-American population to grow faster than the U.S. average over the next five years, spiking by 6.7 percent.

The African-American/Black Market Profile is a compilation of data from dozens of sources, according to the MPA. It’s one in a series of market studies, which examines also the Hispanic/Latino, Asian-American and teen markets.