CMI’s 5th Annual Gay & Lesbian Community Survey

Each year Community Marketing, Inc. conducts a survey among self-identified members of the gay & lesbian community. This year marked trends in social media, mobile usage, and increased buying power from this important industry segment.

Gay men and lesbians own more homes and cars, travel more, spend more on electronics, and have the largest amount of disposable income per capita of any "niche" market. And it's a sizeable segment: LGBT consumers make up 5% to 10% of the U.S. consumer market.

Who Did We Talk To?

• Over 30,000 total respondents across more than 100 countries
• This report focuses on U.S. data for more than 10,000 self-identified gay men and 3,400 lesbian women
• Respondents were recruited from CMI's proprietary research panel and 150 LGBT media outlets and partner organizations

How Did We Talk To Them?

• 15 minute online survey conducted in May-June 2011
• Our survey was made available through an email invitation to survey panelists, as well as on the websites, email lists and social media of our 150+ partners
• Importantly, our sample reflects the readership/membership of this broad range of LGBT focused media outlets, organizations and events. This means that the results summarized here are highly representative of consumers who are interacting with the LGBT community

Key Findings

• Social is the future. Gay consumers - especially younger gay men - are leading the charge toward the intersection of social networking and brand interaction with mobile apps like Grindr. Emerging advertising platforms such as mobile apps and QR tags are gaining noticeable traction and will only become more important.
• Buying power. LGBT consumers represent a powerful buying community that marketers cannot afford to ignore - a significant number across all age groups made major purchases last year and even more are planning to buy big ticket items in the next 12 months.
• Media Matters. While LGBT focused websites are clearly approaching 'mainstream' levels among gay consumers, traditional media channels are still king. Other LGBT media tend to be much more 'niche', with the exception of regional gay print publications which impact a sizeable gay male audience.

How are LGBT consumers interacting with technology?

Smartphones, Social Media and Influencers on Purchase Habits

Smartphone Ownership

• Nearly 7 in 10 gay men own a smartphone - slightly higher than gay women
• iPhone ownership is a bit higher among gay men

Smartphone Usage

• Texting and search are the top activities on smart phones, consistent across both gay men and women
• Outside of texting and search, older gay men and women 45+ are much less likely to use their smartphones for other activities, especially mobile banking and gaming
• Gay men are clearly more likely to be using their smartphones to meet people, use 'check-in' apps like Four SquareTM and make purchases

Technology & Social Interaction

• Younger gay men and women are much heavier users of technology for socializing with their networks
• They send nearly twice as many texts per day as age 30+ and about a third spend at least an hour per day on Facebook

The LGBT World is on Facebook

• Everyone uses Facebook primarily to facilitate connections, but younger gay men and women are more likely to also see it as a source of 'entertainment'
• And younger gay men are the most likely to use Facebook for online dating

This is an excerpt from a full report that includes 60 pages of charts, insights, and implications - download the full report here.

This content was provided by Community Marketing, Inc. Visit their website at www.CommunityMarketingInc.com.

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