Member Article

Untapped economic power of the UK’s Multi-Ethnic consumers revealed in Black Pound Report 2022

Up to £4.5bn of Multi-Ethnic consumers’ disposable income is being ignored or overlooked by big brands and British businesses, according to research and findings in the Black Pound Report 2022, which launches today.

The Black Pound Report is the most comprehensive research into the Multi-Ethnic consumer carried out in the UK. It reveals the economic power of the Multi-Ethnic individual, explores the challenges they face engaging with brands and businesses, and highlights the opportunity for brands and businesses to reach this growing audience.

The Black Pound Report has been created to evolve and change the way businesses treat their consumers so that everyone is treated with respect and served equally. It is written and published by BACKLIGHT, a culture change agency founded and led by Lydia Amoah.

Lydia Amoah explained: “When I was 21, I went into a department store to buy make-up. I struggled to find a shade for my skin tone and asked the assistant for help. She said they only stocked colours for ‘normal skin’. In that moment, I decided that my life’s work would be dedicated to ensuring that no one would ever have that same experience.

“I would like the Black Pound Report to change how brands treat their consumers and treat everyone with respect and serve them equally. For the first time, this report shows the untapped economic power of the Multi-Ethnic consumer and allows businesses to understand an audience that has rarely been researched in depth. From media consumption through to health and beauty product choices, Multi-Ethnic consumers have distinct motivators. Businesses must understand and reflect these to sell their products and services and be truly inclusive.”

Multi-Ethnic consumers are spending £230m every month on health and beauty and yet nearly four in 10 Black female shoppers stated it is not easy to find cosmetics and skin care. Multi-Ethnic consumers spend 25% more on health and beauty products than any other consumer. This is due in part to 22% of all Multi-Ethnic consumers needing to go to specialist shops to get all their health and beauty products – increasing to 30% for Black women.

Yet Black, Asian and Multi-Ethnic consumers are more motivated to buy local whenever they can, with 64% of participants responding positively (vs 56% of the general population).

Commenting on the findings, Lydia Amoah said: “When there is an audience spending £2.7 billion every year on Health and Beauty products, demonstrating that they want to spend their money with businesses on their high street, why on Earth would brands not want a slice of that pie? The Black Pound Report is helping businesses to understand the value of inclusion in the products they create, stock and market.”

Edward Enninful OBE, British Vogue’s editor-in-chief and European editorial director, said: “There has been so much positive movement for Black and Multi-Ethnic consumers in the fashion and beauty sector in recent years, and it is brilliant to see the continued push for change happening in our industry.”

One of the more worrying findings in the report is the frequency that Multi-Ethnic consumers employ ‘Psychological Passing’, particularly in retail environments.

‘Psychological Passing’ is felt by all ethnicities, but there is a higher propensity amongst Multi-Ethnic consumers. This is where consumers feel they need to adjust and adapt their appearance or behaviour to ‘fit in’, to mitigate against profiling by security staff and shop workers.

13% of Multi-Ethnic respondents admit they have consciously changed the way they dress and 12% changed the way they spoke to be socially accepted. Multi-Ethnic consumers who are LGBTQ+ or have a disability are 10% more likely to have adjusted their behaviour when in a store, highlighting the impact of intersectionality shopping experiences

However, the findings of the report show that brands and businesses that embed diversity and inclusion will be rewarded.

93% of Multi-Ethnic consumers think brands have a responsibility to approach diversity and inclusion compared to 74% of those from a White background, while diversity in advertising is three times more important to Multi-Ethnic consumers (24%) than White consumers (8%).

Furthermore, Multi-Ethnic consumers are around twice as likely as White consumers to favour and trust brands that are representative of different communities, have considered ethnic diversity in the creation of their products and services and have diverse staff in their stores and across the business as a whole.

If a company or brand impressed them in some way, eight in ten (78%) of Multi-Ethnic consumers would make a point of telling their friends about it compared to 67% of White consumers, while 59% of Black, Asian and Multi-Ethnic people say they are more likely to purchase products from a brand with an inclusive product range.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Andrew McKay .