GLBT Market

With an estimated buying power of $745 billion in 2009, the GLBT market is yet to be fully explored by many companies. Did you know that 99.3 percent of U.S. counties include at least one same-sex couple? Same-sex couples in California tend to be better educated and have a higher mean income than different-sex couples. More than half of all African-American, API and Latino/a same-gender couples between the ages of 25-55 years are raising children of their own (43%, 45%, and 62%, respectively), and 18% of White same-gender couples are raising children. Less effected by the economic downturn and highly influential, this market is largely untapped by marketers. The GLBT community is looking for more than a representative couple or faint rainbow background. What can you do to build trust and loyalty within this lucrative market?

Companies have been slow to target the GLBT market for several reasons. Some did not recognize the opportunities due to a lack of reliable data. Others feared that reaching out to lesbians and gay men would result in backlash.

But things are changing. Information about gay consumers is available like never before. And opinion polls demonstrate that the public is becoming increasingly more accepting of gay Americans.

Realizing the importance of GLBT consumers, more and more companies are supporting gay causes, instituting gay friendly employee practices and advertising to the gay community.

Read our papers:

Outside the Box: A qualitative study of Gay and Lesbian Hispanics and African Americans (2008)