The effects of ethnicity and product on purchase decision making

The ethnic diversity of the United States makes it critical to develop advertising strategies for specific target segments, which entails investigating how ethnic consumers differ in their various purchase decision-making patterns. This study examined the three main ethnic consumer groups in the United States (blacks, Hispanics, and whites) in their decision-making patterns in purchasing social clothes (value-expressive product) and small electronics (utilitarian product). These ethnic consumer groups displayed distinct patterns in their informational influences (media and reference group) and perceptions of store attribute importance, with the patterns differing for the two types of products. The findings indicate that advertisers should craft their advertising strategies to aim them at a particular ethnic group for a specific type of product.