在尼尔森，为残疾员工和照顾残疾家庭成员的员工营造一个包容性的环境，对于我们的整体多元化和包容性战略至关重要。
Our dedicated associates who serve as members of ADEPT (Abled and Disabled Employees Partnering Together), one of our nine employee resource groups (ERGs), have helped create such an environment within our offices, as well as our communities, and their work has been recognized with a 90% score on the Disability Equality Index. One of the more powerful initiatives ADEPT has undertaken, though, is the design of a study leveraging the breadth of Nielsen’s measurement capabilities to quantify and define the impact of consumers with disabilities.
The study culminated in our recent report, Reaching Prevalent, Diverse Consumers with Disabilities, and is the first on consumers with disabilities. The report provides rare and valuable insight into the lives of people with disabilities and their families. First and foremost, our research found that people with disabilities are widespread within the U.S., making up 19% of the total population. Second, people with disabilities are diverse and represent all demographic characteristics. Finally, consumers with disabilities are powerful, representing a $1 billion market segment according to the U.S. Census Bureau. And when we delved a bit deeper, we found that power is especially evident in certain cases and categories.
例如，与普通消费者相比，残疾消费者的购物次数更多，每次购物的花费也更高，在优惠和优惠券上的花费也更少。在商店里，残疾消费者在宠物食品上的花费比普通消费者多 20%，在宠物护理上的花费比普通消费者多 19%。在食品方面，残疾消费者在面包和烘焙食品上的花费比普通消费者高出 11%，在包装肉类上的花费比普通消费者高出 8%。所有这些购买特征和偏好都表明，对于能够吸引这些消费者的零售商和制造商来说，残疾消费者是一个强大而重要的消费群体。
作为一名残疾家庭成员的照顾者，这一信息对我的触动很大。我发现，很多时候，残疾人在工作场所或其他地方，并不觉得自己有能力 "举起手来"，在需要时请求帮助。我希望这份报告中的信息能让世界各地的公司领导者看到，他们意识到残障人士作为员工和消费者所拥有的力量。当他们开始更好地了解残障消费者时，领导者和公司就可以设计产品和提供服务，满足他们的需求，鼓励他们在职场中茁壮成长。
To learn more, download Nielsen’s Consumers with Disabilities report. The report is also available in Braille.
约翰-伯班克（John Burbank）是尼尔森战略计划总裁。他还是 ADEPT 的尼尔森全球领导力发起人。
