population, will rise to about 14 percent by 2010 (Arjona et al., 1998). Hispanics, accounting for 11 percent of the U.S. population, may increase 23 percent by the year 2015, which is higher than the 17 percent growth rate expected for the United States as a whole (Fisher, 1996). The black population, the largest ethnic minority group, accounting for 13 percent of the U.S. THE SIZE, GROWTH RATE, PURCHASING POWER, and geographic concentration of major ethnic minority groups in the United States offer opportunities and challenges to marketers who want to successfully reach diverse ethnic markets. The findings indicate that advertisers should craft their advertising strategies to aim them at a particular ethnic group for a specific type of 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.

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). 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.

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