Consumer Behavior,
Eighth Edition
SCHIFFMAN & KANUK
Chapter 13
Subcultures and Consumer
Behavior
13-1
Subculture
13-2
A distinct cultural group
that exists as an
identifiable segment
within a larger, more
complex society.
Figure 13.1 Relationship Between
Culture and Subculture
Subcultural
Traits
Of
13-3
Dominant
Cultural
Traits of
U.S. Citizens
Subcultural
Traits
Table 13.1 Examples of Major
Subcultural Categories
CATEGORIES
EXAMPLES
Jamaican, Vietnamese, French
Religion
Mormon, Baptist, Catholic
Geographic region
Northeast, Southwest, Midwestern
Pacific Islander, Native American,
Caucasian
Senior citizen, teenager, Xers
Gender
Female, Male
Occupation
Bus driver, mechanic, engineer
Lower, middle, upper
13-4
Hispanic Subculture
Demographics
• Median age is 10 years younger than the
population
• Concentrated in which cities?
• 12 Hispanic subgroups • 4 major subgroups:
• Mexicans: 64% • Puerto Ricans: 12%
• Cubans: 4-5%
• Dominicans: own
13-5
Issues in Studying Hispanic American
Subcultures
• Hispanic Consumer Behavior
– Stronger preference for well-established brands
– Some are shifting food shopping to non-ethnic
American-style supermarkets
– Youths are more fashion-conscious
13-6
Table 13.2 Traditional Characteristics of the
Hispanic American Market
Prefer well-known or familiar brands
Buy
Are fashion-conscious
Historically prefer to shop at smaller personal stores
Buy brands advertised by their ethnic-group stores
Tend not to be impulse buyers (i.e., are deliberate)
Increasingly clipping and using cents-off coupons
Likely to buy
Prefer
Tend to be negative about marketing practices
13-7
Table 13.3 Traditional
“Hispanic”Variables
• Spanish Surname
• Country of Origin
• Country of family
ancestry
13-8
• Spanish spoken at
home
• Self-identification
• Degree of
identification
Marketplace behaviors
• Heavy users and buyers of cosmetics and toiletries
• Family shopping is a weekend outing
• tend to be loyal to firms that are socially
responsible
• …….. brand loyal than the average American
• Prefer using cash - why?
• Event marketing is highly recommended by
marketers - why?
13-9
Figure 13.4 Hispanic Linguistic
Challenge
Bilingual/ prefer
Spanish
Bilingual/ no
preference
Bilingual/ prefer
English
Spanish only
English only
13-10
Religious Subcultures
• 200+ organized religious groups in the U.S.
• Primary organized faiths include:
– Protestant denominations
– Roman Catholicism
– Judaism
• Consumer Behavior is directly affected by
religion in terms of
13-11
Geographic Subcultures
• Regional identification is used as a way of
describing others
• Geographic subcultures even at the
neighborhood level
• why the interest in researching geographic
subcultures?
13-12
Regional Subcultures
• Many regional differences exist in
consumption behavior
– Westerners have a mug of black coffee
– Easterners have a cup of coffee with milk and
sugar
– White bread is preferred in the South and
Midwest
– Rye and whole wheat are preferred on the East
and West coasts
13-13
Major Racial Subcultures
• The African-American Consumer
– Largest racial minority in U.S.
– Purchasing power estimated at $572 billion
• Asian-American Consumers
– Currently about 12 million in size
– Estimated at 13 million in 2005
– Gain of 54% since 1990
13-14
Reaching the AfricanAmerican Audience
• Two Alternate Strategies
– Running all the advertising in
general mass media
– Running additional advertising
at special advertising in selected
media directed exclusively to
African-Americans
13-15
Major Racial Subcultures
• Asian-American Consumers
– Median age is 27, highest median income,
highest rate of completing college.
– Currently about 10 million in size
– Estimated at 10.9 million in 2001
– Gain of almost 50% since 1990
•
•
•
•
•
•
13-16
Chinese 23%
Filipinos 19%
Japanese 12%
Asian Indian 11%
Korean 11%
Vietnamese 14%
Asian-American Consumers
• Where Are the Asian-Americans?
• Asian-Americans As Consumers
– Buying power of $110 billion
annually
– Attracted to retailers who welcome
Asian-American patronage
13-17
Major Racial Subcultures
• Value quality - well known brands
• generally male oriented decision making
• VERY diverse cultural backgrounds
– Japanese Americans buy quality products and
have the money to spend
– Asian Indians are usually vegetarians
– Koreans prefer shopping in person
– Chinese will pay cash for a car, Japanese will
finance it
13-18
Major Age Subcultures
13-19
Generation X
Market
Generation Y
Market
Seniors
Market
Baby Boomer
Market
Generation
Y
13-20
Born between 1977
and 1994; also called
and
millennium
generation
3 Subsegments of Gen Y
• Gen Y Adults
• Gen Y Teens
• Gen Y Tweens
13-21
Generation X
13-22
Born between 1965
and 1979; post baby
boomer segment (also
referred to as
).
Baby
Boomers
13-23
Individuals born
between 1946 and
1964 (approximately
45% of the adult
population).
Baby Boomers
• Frequently make important consumer
purchase decisions
• Include a small subsegment of trendsetting
consumers (
) who influence consumer
tastes of other age segments
13-24
Seniors
13-25
Generally older
consumers. Consist of
subcultures, including
the 50-plus market and
the “elderly consumers”
market.
Three Senior Subsegments
• The Young-Old (65-74)
• The Old (75-84)
• The Old-Old (85 and older)
13-26
Table 13.12 Comparison of New-Age and
Traditional Elderly
NEW-AGE ELDERLY
• Perceive themselves to be different
in outlook from other people their
age
• Age is seen as a state of mind
• See themselves as younger than
their chronological age
TRADITIONAL/STEREOTYPICAL
ELDERLY
• Perceive all older people to be about
the same in outlook
• See age as more of a physical state
• See themselves at or near their
chronological age
• Feel younger, think younger, and
“do” younger
• Tend to feel, think, and do things that
they feel match their chronological age
• Have a genuinely youthful outlook
• Feel that one should act one’s age
• Feel there is a considerable
adventure to living
13-27
Issues in Understanding Sex as a
Subculture
• Sex Roles and Consumer Behavior
– Masculine vs. Feminine Traits
• The Working Woman
– Segmentation Issues
– Shopping Patterns
13-28
Segmenting the Female Market
• Four Segments:
– Stay-at-Home Housewives
– Plan-to-Work Housewives
– Career-Oriented Working Women
13-29
Table 13.10 How Women Control the
Purse Strings
Women control or influence…
80% of all purchase decisions
80% of new vehicle purchases
46% of menswear purchases
82% of supermarket purchases
53% of investment decisions
70% of appliance choices
Women also…
handle 75% of family finances
constitute 40% of business travel
are 43% of the persons with assets over $500,000
13-30