Want to Reach a Trillion-Dollar Market? Don't Ignore People With Disabilities

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Keywords: people with disabilities, trillion-dollar market, Americans, multicultural marketing, diversity jobs, buying power, workplace, statistics, diverse

Is your company missing out on a trillion-dollar market? It is if it ignores people with disabilities. With $1 trillion, including $220 billion in discretionary income, people with disabilities have the most buying power of any traditionally underrepresented group, according to data from the U.S. Census Bureau.

Buying power, or disposable income, is the total personal income available after taxes. Total annual buying power in the United States exceeded $10 trillion for the first time in 2007 and is projected to be $13 trillion in 2012. Multicultural markets, which will account for more than a fifth of total buying power this year, account for the lion's share of that growth. And leading the way are people with disabilities.

Here's what you should know about the buying power of people with disabilities: 

• More than one in five Americans, approximately 54 million, have a disability, making people with disabilities the largest traditionally underrepresented group in the nation. Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, 2000; The National Organization on Disability/Harris Interactive poll of Americans with Disabilities, 2004
• Thirty percent of the nation's 69.6 million families have at least one member with a disability. Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, 2000; The National Organization on Disability/Harris Interactive poll of Americans with Disabilities, 2004
• Seventy-two percent of people with disabilities are likely to upgrade to a product's latest model. Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, 2000; Witeck-Combs Communications/Harris Interactive poll, 2005; The National Organization on Disability/Harris Interactive poll of Americans with Disabilities, 2004
• Sixty-two percent of people with disabilities say they are likely to do business with companies that have a commitment to diversity and equal treatment of employees. Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, 2000; Witeck-Combs Communications/Harris Interactive poll, 2005; The National Organization on Disability/Harris Interactive poll of Americans with Disabilities, 2004
• Seventy-three percent of people with disabilities are heads of household. Sources: "Within Our Reach: Findings and Recommendations of the National Task Force on Technology and Disability," 2000; Simmons Market Research Bureau, 2000

• People with disabilities spend $13.6 billion on 31.7 million trips each year. Sources: Travel Industry Association of America/Harris Interactive/Open Doors/Society for Accessible Travel and Hospitality Survey, 2002; The National Organization on Disability/Harris Interactive poll of Americans with Disabilities, 2004
• About $3.3 billion is spent annually by travelers with disabilities in the airline industry. Sources: Travel Industry Association of America/Harris Interactive/Open Doors/Society for Accessible Travel and Hospitality Survey, 2002; The National Organization on Disability/Harris Interactive poll of Americans with Disabilities, 2004
• Travelers with disabilities each year spend $4.2 billion in the lodging industry. Sources: Travel Industry Association of America/Harris Interactive/Open Doors/Society for Accessible Travel and Hospitality Survey, 2002; The National Organization on Disability/Harris Interactive poll of Americans with Disabilities, 2004
• A 12 percent increase in revenue in the hospitality industry is attributed, in part, to consumers with disabilities. Sources: Travel Industry Association of America/Harris Interactive/Open Doors/Society for Accessible Travel and Hospitality Survey, 2002; The National Organization on Disability/Harris Interactive poll of Americans with Disabilities, 2004

• Four out of 10 members of the traveling public are Americans with disabilities and their companions. Sources: Travel Industry Association of America/Harris Interactive/Open Doors/Society for Accessible Travel and Hospitality Survey, 2002; The National Organization on Disability/Harris Interactive poll of Americans with Disabilities, 2004

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