"When marketers address Blacks or Hispanics strictly by demographics or socio-economic indicators, they automatically view them as being different from the norm. However, actual shopping behaviors are better indicators because they show the similarities and differences are two sides of the same coin, not opposites," said Joe Pilotta, Ph.D., Vice President of Research at BIGresearch. "While each group shops most often at Wal-Mart for men's and women's clothing, a much higher percentage of Blacks and Hispanics shop for health and beauty aides at Walgreens and CVS. It may be more appropriate to view consumers as a group who shop at Wal-Mart, of which some happen to be Black, some Hispanic, and others White, with each group shopping at Wal-Mart for different merchandise with differences perhaps greater within their own grouping," said Pilotta.
However, when it comes to media usage, Blacks, Hispanics, and Whites have more differences than commonalities. "One commonality is that Blacks, Hispanics, and Whites each choose Radio as the background media of choice when using other media," said Pilotta, "but when it comes to the cable networks each watch, there are few similarities."
