NEW YORK: Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) women are driving the influence and buying power of Asian Americans overall, which is expected to grow exponentially a new study shows.

Researcher Nielsen surveyed 203,267 respondents over the course of a year for its report, Asian American Women: Digitally Fluent with an Intercultural Mindset.

It reported that, with an average age of 36, Asian American women are entering their effective buying years, driving the economic impact of Asian Americans overall, but especially in the beauty, travel and grocery industries.

And for this group, brand trust is a significant factor in a purchase decision, as 76% of respondents said they will pay for a brand they trust, even if it is more expensive.

"Asian American women are the consumers of the future—they are young, digitally fluent and open to trying new products and services," Mariko Carpenter, vice president of strategic community alliances at Nielsen, told NBC News.

"Highly educated and adventurous—Asian American females are not only discovering new products and experiences as they explore the world, but they are also using social media to create shareable content that influences the marketplace."

The report found that 39% of AAPI women are entrepreneurs, with 46% of respondents saying their eventual goal is to make it to the top of their professions.

Elsewhere, the group values healthy living, as half of those surveyed regularly ate organic food. This preference continues into beauty preferences, as 42% used natural or organic beauty products in the last year (10% higher than non-Hispanic White women).

In addition, Asian American women are also more widely travelled than their non-Hispanic White counterparts, as 54% of AAPI women have travelled outside the continental US in the last three years.

AAPI women appear more comfortable with technology than other groups: they own more devices than the general population and are more likely to use social media. This group over-indexes on smartphone penetration by 7% against the general population.

"The Asian American buying power has grown more than double that of the US as a whole since 2000," Carpenter said.

"With Asian American females contributing significantly to that growth, businesses would do well to speak to the lifestyle, values and preferences of this influential segment,"

Data sourced from Nielsen, NBC; additional content by WARC staff