A Brief About American Muslim Consumer

The American Muslim Consumer Conference provides the only platform for industry professionals to examine this potent market sector, and explore its rich potential. It effectively raises awareness of the Muslim consumer, their buying power so that the market can gain some visibility and presence in mainstream media, the advertising industry and in-turn influence companies in developing products for Muslims.


It is clear that this market is growing and maturing. The consumer preferences of the world’s nearly 1.5 billion Muslims are faith-based, and largely non-negotiable, and the concept of Shariah-compliance as a marketing strategy has started to take root in the global and national marketplaces.


JWT’s 2007 study of ‘one of America’s biggest hidden niche markets’ revealed that the American Muslim consumers represent “a neglected market with huge potential for brands that are willing to connect with them.”


The report, based on face-to-face and telephone interviews, uncovered various important points about American Muslims attitudes to brands:

  • 70% felt that brands play an important role in their purchasing decisions, compared to 55% for the average American

  • 59% say they make a point of knowing which brands are popular, compared to a 42% average

  • 55% felt that brands make ‘life more interesting’ compared to a 43% average.

  • 71% said they rarely see anyone of their own faith or ethnicity in advertising

  • 73% said they could not think of one mainstream brand that showed a Muslim in its advertising.

  • 77% rated price as important, as against 91% of the general public, making their brand choice less dependent on price/value.


Selected Press Quotes

Crescent Rating “The United States is beginning to recognize the market potential offered by the millions of Muslims living in the country.”
Dinar Standard “This event is bound to provide marketers with another convincing look at this market. The event has a great lineup of speakers of marketers, analysts, and experienced Muslim market entrepreneurs who will cover American Muslim markets scope, trends and opportunities, and ways to effectively reach them.”
Halal Focus“The AMCC event was the first of its kind – anywhere – to look at this market from the perspective of reaching the target consumers, and the topic was approached from all sides. Both Muslim and non-Muslim speakers unfolded their perspectives on the issues at hand, and while their perspectives varied, there was the common thread… we are seeing something powerful coming into view.”
Newspapergrl “The community is open to marketing messages and engagement and this to me is the most interesting. Why do Muslims welcome advertising targeted at them? Because to be marketed to is a form of acceptance, marketing is part of the fabric of our society. So when we specifically market to Muslims it’s a signal that they are part of the mainstream rather than feared, misunderstood, marginalized, etc.”
Sentinel “The goal of the event is to dispel negative stereotypes of Muslims by highlighting their contributions to America's society and economy.”
The National (UAE) “The potential for growth within the halal and Islamic finance sectors were discussed at length as was analysis of the US Muslim consumer market and strategies to reach it.”
Advertising Age 'In the coming years, the U.S. market will likely begin to recognize and court the $170 billion purchasing power of American Muslims." In attendance for this year’s conference were key representatives from Wal-Mart, Sam’s Club and Campbell’s Soup.

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