61 Percent of US Consumers Feel Brands Have Done Little to Nothing to Follow Through on Their Anti-Racism Pledges

NEW YORK / AGILITYPR.NEWS / June 18, 2021 / 61 Percent of US Consumers Feel Brands Have Done Little to Nothing to Follow Through on Their Anti-Racism Pledges

Black Lives Matter, Stop Asian Hate Movements Have Increased the Importance of Tackling Racism for US Adults

Consumer Snapshot: Black Lives Matter Movement 

New research from GWI, a leading polling and audience targeting company, finds that the vast majority of American consumers do not think brands have followed through very much at all on the anti-racism commitments they made during the summer of 2020. 

More than one-third (34%) say brands have only done a little to tackle anti-racism, and a further quarter (27%) say they’ve done even less. The fact 1 in 5 (20%) Americans say they are not sure about brands’ follow through suggests brands can do a lot more to let consumers know how they are doing their part. 

“Black Lives Matter protests in 2020 were, by volume, the largest demonstrations in American history. As a result they have had a serious lasting effect on both the national conversation around race, as well as the responsibility of businesses to do their part in tackling racism. Now more than ever, consumers are actually holding brands accountable for their Corporate Social Responsibility initiatives.” GWI Trends Analyst Doug Gorman. 

Additionally: 

• Six in 10 (61%) consumers in the US said that they believe brands have only done a little or nothing at all at this point in regards to their anti-racism pledges; this number rises slightly among people of color (66%.) Specifically, one in five (22%) people of color said brands have not done very much, and 37 percent said they have only done a little. 
• One-third (33%) of 55-64 year olds said they were “not sure” when asked how much they believe brands have followed through on anti-racism pledges, the highest among all age groups. 
• Just 27 percent of 25-34 year olds and 26 percent of 35-44 year olds said brands have followed through “a lot.” 
• Nearly four in 10 (37%) adults living in urban areas said brands have followed through on their pledges “a little,” and nearly one-quarter (24%) said “a lot.” 
• Men are more than likely than women to say brands have not done enough to follow through on their pledges: 64 percent of men and 58 percent of women said brands have done little to nothing at all around their anti-racism pledges. 

Black Lives Matter Movement Increased Importance of Anti-Black Racism Issue for Adults Under 35

The Black Lives Matter Movement has driven many adults in the US to take action and support anti-Black racism efforts, and research now shows that adults under 35 are more likely than average adults to say the movement has increased the focus of this issue in their lives. 

According to the survey: 

1. Nearly half (45%) of 25-34 year olds, a large portion of the Millennial generation, said the movement has made tackling anti-Black racism a more important issue for them, which is the highest percentage among all age groups. 
2. US adults 45 and over were the most likely to say the movement has not made tackling this issue more important to them, though 28 percent of 45-54 year olds and 22 percent of 55-64 year olds said the issue was already important to them. 
3. On average, 28 percent of US adults said this issue is already important to them, with another 30 percent saying the movement has increased their interest in tackling anti-Black racism. 
4. Women are slightly more likely than men to say the movement has made tackling this issue more important to them (31% vs. 29%), and that the issue was already something they were focused on (29% vs. 27).  

Stop Asian Hate Movement Increased the Importance of the Issue for People of Color 

The large movement seen in 2021 to bring light to the issue of anti-Asian racism has drawn adults from all corners to feel more inspired to tackle this form of racism. GWI’s latest survey found that on average, more than one-third (34%) of US adults said the movement made tackling anti-Asian racism more important to them. 

Additionally: 

• Four out of 10 (43%) of people of color surveyed in the US said that the movement has made tackling the issue of anti-Asian racism more important to them; three in 10 (31%) White adults in the US said so as well. 
• Nearly one-quarter (24%) of people of color in the US agreed the issue was already important to them; on average, 22 percent of adults in the US said the issue was already important to them. 

Methodology: This data is from the May wave of GWI’s Zeitgeist study, a survey of 2,059 American internet users aged 16-64, of which 384 are people of color, 1,657 are white, 362 are 16-34 years old, 304 are 25-34 years old, 560 are 35-44 years old, 488 are 45-54 years old, and 649 are 55-64 years old.