August 09, 2001 New Study Looks at African-American Book Buyers African-American book buyers are heavy consumers of fiction, are usually making their purchases at a chain store, and are generally eschewing national bestseller lists in favor of personal recommendations, according to a new study recently released from the Book Industry Study Group, Inc. (BISG). The study, sponsored by a number of publishers and book clubs and conducted by Target Market News, is based on the responses of 373 people from New York City, Chicago, Philadelphia, Atlanta, Detroit, Denver, Los Angeles, and Washington, DC. The buyers who responded to the survey were very active purchasers, with 41 percent having bought between six and 10 books in the past three months, and 51 percent having purchased between one and five books. While BISG Executive Director Frank Daly noted that the study's findings could not be extrapolated to the entire African-American community, he said that it did provide a wealth of information regarding the broad trends and consumer preferences of African-American book buyers. One of the biggest preferences is that African Americans "are looking for more books from a black perspective in many subjects," said Ken Smikle, president of Target Market News, a Chicago-based research firm that monitors African-American consumer behavior. While 71 percent of those surveyed reported that they generally purchase fiction titles for themselves, a majority of the respondents showed the greatest interest in books that reflect an African-American perspective. When asked what "types of books you generally enjoy," 67 percent noted any titles by black authors, and 53 percent reported titles about black issues. The study's results indicate that African-American buyers are strongly influenced by word of mouth, with 43 percent reporting that a recommendation by "someone I know" was the key factor in helping them to decide to purchase a book. While 68 percent reported that they did not use bestseller lists for making purchase decisions, among those African-American book buyers who do use lists, black media were far and away the most influential factors. A majority noted that they use the Blackboard Bestsellers list; 43 percent reporting that they read it in Essence magazine. Only eight percent of those surveyed noted that they used the New York Times bestseller list in making purchase decisions. Other key factors in attracting the attention of African-American book buyers were the subject matter (61 percent) and an author they had previously read (37 percent). Point of view was also a key factor for the 12 percent who reported that a book review influenced their purchase. Essence magazine was cited by 72 percent as the publication in which they usually read reviews, and six percent noted Black Issues Book Review. The New York Times was noted by 25 percent of those responding. Interestingly, African-American book buyers surveyed were more apt to have purchased a book from a chain store than a black bookstore, with 83 percent citing a chain store versus nine percent for a black store. Over 75 percent of those surveyed noted that they currently have access to the Internet either at work or at home, and almost 40 percent reported that they had purchased a book from an online retailer. It is expected that the report will be ready by the end of the month. For more information, call BISG at (732) 583-0066. -Dan Cullen Topics: Specialty Bookselling, African American, Industry Statistics, News - Bookselling,