Gay & Lesbian Consumer Index®

CMI's 3rd Annual Gay and Lesbian Consumer Index

Over 30,000 responded to Community Marketing’s 2009 Gay & Lesbian Consumer Index® survey during August and September, 2009. This year, we have made the research findings available in their entirety. Click here to download.

 

 

 

 

Community Marketing, Inc. (CMI), the San Francisco-based gay and lesbian research, marketing and communications firm, first released the most comprehensive LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender) market research report ever conducted, the Gay Consumer Index and the Lesbian Consumer Index, in August 2007. The initial Index study was co-produced by Rivendell Media, and sponsored by ABSOLUT®. The Index was updated in 2009 to include results from CMI's 3nd Annual Consumer Index™ study, sponsored by ABSOLUT®.

	Lesbians	Gay Men
Total US Respondents (2009)	5,809	15,848
Total US Respondents (2008)	4,939	11,000
Total US Respondents (2007)	10,344	12,044
Sample 2007 / 2008 Demographics Include...
Median Age	45	45
In relationships and living together	64.5%	46.3%
Single	23.3%	42.6%
Have children under age 18 living in home	20%	5%
Annual Household Income	Approx. $80,000	Approx. $80,000
Work in the Medical / Health Industry	15.2%	8%
Own a single family home	59.0%	41.2%
Rent an apartment	18.4%	28.6%
Sample 2008 Key Findings Include...
Purchased a cell phone (last year)	64%	62%
Purchased a car (last year)	25%	25%
Purchased a vacation home (last year)	5%	5%
Percent of internet time spent shopping	8%	7%
Percent of internet time on social/dating sites	7%	14%
Encountered workplace discrimination during lifetime	34%	22%
Watch Bravo at least weekly	34%	49%
Weekly spending on alcohol (median)	$22	$40
Most popular alcoholic drink	beer	vodka
Most important voting issue	gay marriage	the economy
Regularly make stock investments	28%	33%
Gave > $1,000 to charity (last year)	15%	22%
Sample 2007 Key Findings Include...
Personal Internet Usage (per week)	10 hours	12 hours
TV Viewing (per week)	10 hours	10 hours
Dine out per week	3 times	4 times
Guardian of a cat	50.8%	28.4%
Guardian of a dog	58.5%	37.6%
Purchased a plasma or HDTV in the last year	17.3%	20.0%
Drive a hybrid car	3.2%	2.6%
Prefer vodka among spirits	47.5%	55.2%
Voted in 2006 mid-term elections	78.0%	83.8%
Used an American Express Card in the last month	24.0%	36.0%

"Never before has an LGBT research study been based on a sample size of such proportion, and from such a broad spectrum of consumers," said Thomas Roth, President of Community Marketing, and the survey's chief architect. The resulting Gay Consumer Index and Lesbian Consumer Index reports include ground-breaking quantitative data and deep insights on demographics, psychographics, purchase behavior and motivations, and social and political perspectives. These indices will guide LGBT development and effective outreach communications for years to come," Roth added.

2008 Survey participants were solicited through over 75 widely distributed internet and print publications, including: 411 Magazine, A Bears Life Magazine, Bay Area Reporter, Bay Windows, Between The Lines, Chicago Free Press, Curve, Dallas Voice, Edge, Fugues, Gay Ad Network, Gay People's Chronicle, GayWheels.com, Genre, HX Magazine, In Los Angeles Magazine/Frontiers, Instinct, Jane and Jane, Just Out, Logo Online, Metro Weekly, Next Magazine, Olivia, Out & About, Out Front Colorado, Outlook Weekly, OutSmart, Philadelphia Gay News, Pink Banana Media, Q Notes, Southern Voice, The Leather Journal, The Ozark Star, Washington Blade, Watermark, Windy City Times, and many others. These media partners contributed their survey participants into Community Marketing's own proprietary survey panel developed since 1994, which includes respondents from many other leading event and media companies such as The Advocate, Gay.com, PlanetOut.com, GayWired.com and Passport.

Click here to download CMI's Approach to Market Research. Click here to download a profile of CMI's 50,000+ LGBT Consumer research panel.

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