Gay and Lesbian Consumers Value Company Commitment

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Companies that are looking to court the documented high disposable incomes of gay and lesbian consumers should be willing to make a commitment to the community, according to research from Witeck-Combs Communications and Harris Interactive.

With surveys from Community Marketing, Inc. finding that 83 percent of gay household incomes are above the national average of $40,000 or more, and 34 percent have household incomes of $100,000 or more, this powerful consumer market is committed to community involvement, and places high importance on company action.

In a June 2002 survey of 2,050 U.S. adults (of whom 6 percent self-identified as gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender [GLBT]) conducted by Witeck-Combs and Harris Interactive, almost half felt strongly about patronizing companies that were supportive of the community. However, even though almost 4-in10 (39 percent) would rather purchase from companies that advertise in the GLBT media, 44 percent of the respondents were neutral.

Substantiating the evidence of consumer loyalty among this demographic are results from the 2001 Gay/Lesbian Consumer Online Census. Almost half of the respondents agreed that when deciding whether or not to buy a product or service, they try to find out whether or not the company is gay-friendly, and more than 80 percent of those surveyed agreed that there were more likely to buy products or services from companies they knew were gay-friendly.