The urban market is growing fast and setting online trends, according to
a market research report.
“The urban market is neither ethnic or geographic, it is a mindset,”
explained Guy Primus, executive director and senior analyst of UrbanIQ. “It
is a consumer group with more than $890 billion in spending and the power to
influence mainstream culture both here and abroad.”
Urban IQ publishes “Urban Lifestyle Trends Research Analysis (ULTRA),” a
quarterly report defining urban market trends in marketing, fashion and
music.
Because this demographic is techno-savvy, it strongly sways public
opinion regarding brand selection in electronic- and media-related
purchases, according to Primus.
“These people are trend setting, influential and online,” he said. “This
is a category with a lot of disposable income. More than 10 percent of
online urban consumers live in households with a $75,000 annual income.
“Further, The urban online population is growing at 17.3 percent a year,” he
said. “Of the 45.3 million urban consumers, 22.5 million are currently
online.”
Additional findings include:
- Online urban consumers have adopted the Internet as their primary
medium. - BlackPlanet.com is tops in terms of average minutes per user.
- City sites are popular among urban consumers, particularly large-city
newspapers, city information and alternative news. - Beauty and discounted travel sites are among the most popular ecommerce
sites. - More than 50 percent of urban Internet users expect to spend over $100
online this year. - The average online urban consumer expects to spend $590 online this
year. - By the end of 2001, more than 80 percent of urban market consumers will
have cell phones or intend to purchase one. - About 10 percent of urban consumers have high-speed Internet access at
home.
Characteristics shared by the category include a penchant for Hip Hop and
R&B music, a high level of monthly spending on beauty products and apparel
and a marginal preference for Coke over Pepsi, noted Primus.
“By observing urban trends, companies can incorporate themes that will
evoke the appropriate responses from urban trendsetters,” he stressed.
“These trendsetters will identify what products are ‘hot’ among various
market segments and how other segments will adopt them.”
Carol King is an assistant editor with atNewYork’s sister publication, InternetNews.com.
