Abstract
Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered (LGBT) people represent a small but increasingly important segment of the U.S. population. They tend to have higher household incomes than other segments and often spend a significant portion of their disposable income on travel, health, wellness and green products, gourmet foods and clothing. While this group is a potentially lucrative target for many companies, it is also somewhat unique, and thus marketers and product developers who wish to target the group must familiarize themselves with the lifestyles of LGBTs as well as their culture.
In order to help achieve these objectives, Mintel' s research addresses the following questions
" How big is the LGBT segment?
" What is the nature of LGBT culture and how do companies create messaging that resonates with consumers?
" What metros have high concentrations of gay couples?
" How do LGBTs make purchase decisions, and how are their decision-making styles similar to and distinct from mainstream consumers?
" How much influence does the relationship a company has with the LGBT community influence decisions about where to shop and what brands to buy?
" What are the spending patterns of LGBTs, and what products do they tend to purchase frequently?
" How do LGBTs use the Internet, and how is their Internet behavior unique?
" Do LGBTs travel more than other segments?
" How do LGBTs make decisions about where to travel and who to book their travel with?
" How do LGBTs feel about their sexuality and the way that straight people view it?
" What are the spending trends in the gay advertising industry?
" What type of advertising and promotions are effective?
Table of Contents
- Scope and Themes
- What you need to know
- Definition
- Data sources
- Consumer survey data
- Abbreviations and terms
- Executive Summary
- Segment size and demographics
- Decision-making drivers
- Spending patterns
- Online behavior
- Travel patterns
- Attitudes about sexual identity
- Advertising and promotion
- Segment Size and Demographics
- Key points
- The LGBT segment represents about 3.4% of the U.S. population
- Figure 1: Estimated size of the LGBT population, by age, 2001-2011
- LGBTs have high household incomes
- Most LGBTs are college educated
- Figure 2: Educational attainment of LGBTs, 2001
- Most LGBTs are in a relationship and living with their partner
- Figure 3: Growth in gay households in the U.S., 1990-2000
- Hispanic and black LGBTs more comfortable with identity
- Most LGBTs do not live in "gay neighborhoods"
- Figure 4: Type of community LGBTs live in, by community type, 2008
- Certain cities have high concentrations of gay couples
- Figure 5: Cities with high concentrations of gay couples, by city, 2008
- Decision-making Drivers
- Key points
- Availability, convenience and cost often have most influence on purchasing
- Figure 6: Decision-making drivers among LGBTs, by gender, 2008
- Health and wellness is important to most LGBTs
- There is high demand for green products in the LGBT segment
- LGBTs reject or even boycott gay-unfriendly companies
- Figure 7: Importance of relationship with the LGBT community, by gender, 2008
- Decision-making styles of LGBT age segments differ
- Figure 8: Importance of decision-making drivers among LGBTs, by age, 2008
- Spending Patterns
- Key points
- Of all LGBTs, gay men are the heaviest users of gourmet foods
- Figure 9: Use of food and health/wellness products, by sexual orientation, 2008
- Young LGBTs are the heaviest users of household appliances and
dishware/cookware
- Figure 10: Use of household appliances and cookware/dishware among LGBTs, by age, 2008
- Young LGBTs have a greater interest in audio/stereo equipment and music
- Figure 11: Purchase of music and audio/stereo equipment LGBTs, by age, 2008
- Bisexual/transgendered respondents make more clothing purchases than gay
men and lesbians
- Figure 12: Purchase of clothing/footwear and sports/athletic products among LGBTs, by sexual orientation, 2008
- Figure 13: Purchase of clothing/footwear and sports/athletic products among LGBTs, by age, 2008
- Among LGBTs, women are heavier users of books, green products and
technology
- Figure 14: Purchase of books/educational materials, green products and technology among LGBTs, by gender, 2008
- Online Behavior
- Key points
- Many LGBTs are heavy Internet users
- Figure 15: Hours per week spent online by gay/lesbian vs. heterosexual population, by usage, 2006
- LGBTs are heavy users of social networking and social media sites
- Figure 16: Incidence of online social networking use, by sexuality, 2006
- Figure 17: Average time LGBTs spend on YouTube.com, 2006
- Blogs are very popular among LGBTs
- Figure 18: Frequency of blog use, by sexuality, 2006
- Figure 19: Types of blogs that LGBTs visit, by blog type, 2006
- Online purchase patterns
- Figure 20: Incidence of Internet purchases among LGBTs, by gender and category, 2008
- Figure 21: Incidence of Internet purchases among LGBTs, by age and category, 2008
- Travel Patterns
- Key points
- LGBT annual travel expenditures currently exceed $77 billion
- Figure 22: Total U.S. LGBT travel expenditures, at current and constant prices, by year, 2005-10
- Couples are the highest value segment for most travel companies
- Figure 23: Incidence of travel in past two years, by relationship status, 2008
- Figure 24: Mean number of trips taken in the past two years, by leisure/business, by relationship status, 2008
- Friends and the Internet are the most important sources of travel-related
information for LGBTs
- Figure 25: Use of selected gay-specific sources of information on leisure travel destinations, March 2005
- Figure 26: Most popular mainstream travel sites used, by sexuality, March 2005
- Create travel packages to states that allow same sex marriage or civil unions
- Attitudes About Sexual Identity
- Key points
- LGBTs under age 35 are somewhat more likely to struggle with their sexual
identity
- Figure 27: Agreement with coming out as a personal journey that happens over the course of a lifetime, by age, 2008
- Figure 28: Struggle with internalized homophobia, by age, 2008
- LGBT women are more comfortable with the effect of aging on their
appearance
- Figure 29: Extent of feeling pressure to look younger, by sexuality, 2008
- Most gay/bisexual men feel that advertising directed toward
- LGBTs is too focused on youth and beauty
- Figure 30: Feel gay advertising is too focused on youth and beauty, by gender, 2008
- Most LGBTs are "out" to their co-workers
- Figure 31: Are "out" to co-workers, by gender, 2008
- LGBTs heavily favor gay-friendly employers
- Figure 32: Would prefer to work for a company that provides benefits to domestic partners, by age, 2008
- Figure 33: Incidence of working for a company that is gay friendly, by relationship status, 2008
- Figure 34: Incidence of prefering to work for a company/organization that donates money to HIV/AIDS research, by gender, 2008
- Advertising and Promotion
- Key points
- Desirable brand attributes
- The symbol of gay pride and solidarity--flying the rainbow flag
- Most LGBTs buy at least some products from companies that are gay friendly
- Figure 35: Share of products and services purchased based on LGBT friendliness, by gender, 2008
- A company' s relationship with the gay community and loyalty
- Figure 36: Willingness to remain brand loyal for being friendly, by sexuality, 2007
- Figure 37: Willingness to switch brands to support the gay community, by sexuality, 2007
- Figure 38: Incidence of switching brands after finding out a company was harmful to the gay community, by sexuality, 2007
- Appendix: Gay Press Data
- Figure 39: Trends in gay press advertising expenditures, 1997-2006
- Figure 40: Number of ads in non-sexually explicit LGBT publications, by subject category, 2005-2006
- Figure 41: Number of ads in non-sexually explicit LGBT publicatons, by publication type and subject category, 2005-06
