February 13, 2023
Younger Black Americans More Prone To Impulse Buying Than Others, Influenced Heavily By Social Media Advertising
New data shows that Black millennials (68%) and Black Gen Zers (66%) report they make impulse or unplanned purchases based on a social media ad. Their spending is higher than 52% of all Americans.
The survey results show that young Black Americans are more likely to buy based on social media advertising, especially impulse purchases. That is versus the average American and their peers. The discovery is from Matt Brannon, author of this study on marketing to millennials and Gen Z.
Brannon says Black Americans also have a high opinion of social media generally. “That makes sense as Black Americans have seen increasing representation in the media over the past few years, with many brands making a more deliberate attempt to include and highlight Black voices.”
Some 66% of Black Gen Zers and 55% of Black millennials have made a purchase based on an influencer’s recommendation, compared to 45% of all Americans.
Social media marketing is big business. Consider advertisers were projected to spend more than $56 billion promoting their products on social networks in 2022, per market data firm Statista. The Selig Center for Economic Growth estimates Black spending power will rise to $1.8 trillion by 2024.
However, Black Americans may do well to reconsider such spontaneous spending to help protect their money. Brannon explained that most financial experts contend it’s best to avoid making impulse purchases and that most social media experts would say it’s important to maintain your privacy online.
He says young Black Americans seem to be doing worse in these respects than other groups. Inversely, young Black Americans have been good for social media companies. For instance, Brannon shared they are particularly likely to buy products advertised on these platforms and are more likely to have a positive opinion of these companies. He noted young Black Americans are less likely to maintain their privacy, which means platforms can show them more targeted ads and sell their data to third parties.