TMN/NiaOnline Consumer Confidence Survey 
Survey: Blacks still more confident than whites on major purchases

(February 6, 2006) According to the TMN/NiaOnline Black Consumer Confidence Survey taken in December, African-Americans were twice as likely as whites to plan a big-ticket purchase. Thirty-two percent of blacks said they are planning to buy a car, major appliance or high-end electronics in the next 90 days. Only 14 percent of white respondents said they would make such a purchase.

The difference between blacks’ and whites’ intensions to make major purchases has been consistent since the TMN/NiaOnline Black Consumer Confidence Survey was introduced in May 2005.

”It is significant to note that the largest gap recorded between blacks and whites on their plans to make major purchases occurred at the busiest shopping periods,” said Ken Smikle, president of Target Market News. “Retailers and manufacturers need to recognize the important business opportunity revealed in these differences.”

Seventy-three percent of U.S. blacks feel secure about their current employment status for the next 90 days, as do the same percentage of U.S. whites, according to the December survey.

Black optimism on employment in December was down one percentage point from the November 2005 survey, in which 74 percent of both blacks and whites said they felt secure about their current employment status for the next 90 days. Twenty-seven percent of both blacks and whites in the December survey said they are not sure they will be in their current job 90 days from now.

Tracking the survey’s results from last year shows that respondents may have predicted the national trend. In October 2005, the survey recorded a three percent jump in blacks who believed they may not be in their current jobs in the near future. In November, the U.S. Bureau of labor Statistics said that black unemployment had a significant increase from 9.1 percent to 10.6 percent, one of the largest unemployment periods for blacks in 2005. Unemployment dropped to 9.3 percent in December.

"Despite November’s unemployment increase, blacks left 2005 with greater confidence about their job security than they had felt throughout most of the summer and fall months," observed Cheryl Mayberry McKissack, president and CEO of Nia Enterprises in Chicago.

The latest Target Market News/NiaOnline Black Consumer Confidence Survey was conducted in December 2005 by Chicago-based Nia Enterprises, LLC through its NiaOnline Quick Response survey service (www.niaonline.com). All respondents to the survey were members of NiaOnline.com's Consumer Advisory Panel, which reaches over 125,000 black household members. The results are based on responses from 373 black respondents and 346 white respondents.

How do you feel about your job status for the
next 90 days?

BLACKS     June     July    Aug     Sept    Oct    Nov     Dec
Will be in    69%      72%    71%    73%   70%   74%    73%
current job          

May not be  31%      28%   29%    27%   30%   26%    27%
in current job     

WHITES      June     July    Aug    Sept    Oct    Nov     Dec
Will be in     70%     73%    73%    73%   72%   74%   73%
current job          

May not be  30%     27%    27%    27%   28%   26%   27%
in current job     

Source: TMN/NiaOnline Black Consumer Confidence Survey

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Do you think you'll buy a big-ticket item in the next 90 days?

BLACKS    June     July     Aug    Sept     Oct     Nov      Dec
Yes            29%      26%     30%     25%   31%    33%    32%
No              55%      53%     52%     58%   51%    49%    50%
Not sure    15%      21%     18%    17%   18%    18%    17%

WHITES
Yes            16%       16%     14%    13%    16%    16%    14%
No              60%       59%     63%    63%    62%    60%    61%
Not sure    24%      25%     23%     24%    22%   24%    25%

Source: TMN/NiaOnline Black Consumer Confidence Survey


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Latest 'Buying Power' report shows black consumers spending more on home life

As the American economy continues to move sluggishly, African-American households are curtailing their spending in many categories, including food, clothing and basic household items, while investing more in home repair, home entertainment and consumer electronics. Although they are trimming back, black consumers are still spending more than their white counterparts on most of these products.
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