CHAPTER 12
Subcultures and Consumer Behavior
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
12.1 To understand the subcultures and consumption globally and within the United States.
12.3 To understand the impact of religious affiliations on consumer behavior.
12.5 To comprehend age and generational influences on consumer behavior.
12.6 To understand the influence of gender, gender identity, and sexual orientation on
consumer behavior.
SUMMARY
Learning Objective 12.1: To understand the subcultures and consumption globally and within
the United States.
Subcultural analysis enables marketers to segment their markets to meet the specific needs,
motivations, perceptions, and attitudes shared by members of a specific subcultural group. A
subculture is a distinct cultural group that exists as an identifiable segment within a larger, more
complex society. Its members possess beliefs, values, and customs that set them apart from other
members of the same society; at the same time, they hold to the dominant beliefs of the overall
society. Major subcultural categories in the United States include nationality and ethnicity,
religion, geographic location, age, and gender. Each of these can be broken down into smaller
Learning Objective 12.2: To realize the influence of nationality and ethnicity subcultures on
consumer behavior.
The three ethnic subcultures in the United States that constitute unique market segments are
Hispanics (or Latinos), African Americans, and Asian American consumers.
There are approximately 17 million Asian Americans, representing 5.6% of the U.S. population,
and they are the fastest-growing American minority, with some estimates showing that their
numbers will reach 35 million by 2050. The largest nationalities within America’s Asian
population are Chinese, Filipino, Indian, Vietnamese, Korean, and Japanese. Asian Americans
do not share a common language and are a highly diverse market segment. The Asian American
Learning Objective 12.3: To understand the impact of religious affiliations on consumer
behavior.
The United States reportedly has more than 200 different organized religious subcultures. Of this
number, Protestant denominations, Roman Catholicism, Islam, and Judaism are the principal
Learning Objective 12.4: To know about the influence of regional characteristics on consumer
behavior.
The United States is a large country that includes a wide range of climatic and geographic
conditions, and Americans have a sense of regional identification and use it as a way of
describing themselves and others. These labels often assist us in developing a mental picture
and supporting a “stereotype” of the person in question. There are geographic differences in the
Learning Objective 12.5: To comprehend age and generational influences on consumer
behavior.
According to the latest U.S. Census, there are 317 million Americans. Each generation
constitutes a distinct subculture and market segment, because its members have unique priorities
and purchase patterns. Important shifts occur in an individual’s demand for products and
Generation Y are people born between 1980 and 1996. Gen Y members grew up with technology
and embraced it. They are attracted to higher levels of stimulation and are easily bored. They
are more confident than other generations were at their age because of growing up in child–
centric households, a youth-oriented society, and the American emphasis on self-esteem. As
consumers, they want faster product turnover, personally relevant promotions, and interactive
company, but instead prefer to work for a company that can offer some work–life flexibility and
can bring some fun aspects into the environment. They want to be recognized by marketers as a
group in their own right and not as mini-baby boomers.
Baby boomers were born between 1946 and 1964. These 78 million or so baby boomers
represent more than 40% of the U.S. adult population, which makes them a much sought-after
In 2015, there were more than 47 million people in the United States who are 65 years of age or
older (almost 15% of the population). Projecting ahead to the year 2050, it is anticipated that
more than 88 million Americans (20% of the total population) will be 65 years of age or older. In
addition, from the start to the end of the twentieth century, life expectancy in the United States
rose from use older Americans’ lifestyles to segment their markets.
Learning Objective 12.6: To understand the influence of gender on consumer behavior.
Because gender roles have an important cultural component, it is quite fitting to examine gender
as a subcultural category. All societies tend to assign certain traits and roles to males and others
to females. In terms of role differences, women have historically been cast as homemakers with
responsibility for child care, and men as the providers or breadwinners. Because such traits and
CHAPTER OUTLINE
INTRODUCTION
2. A subculture can stem from a person’s ethnicity, religion, geographic location, age or gender,
among other things.
3. Marketers may single out a subculture to better meet the needs of the targeted consumers and
change the marketing message to suit the subculture’s values and tastes.
Subcultures in the United States
1. A society’s cultural profile includes the unique beliefs, values and customs of specific
2. Most Americans belong to more than one cultural group.
***** Use Learning Objective #12.1 Here; Use Figures 12.2 and 12.3 Here; Use Review and
Discussion Question 12.1 Here*****
Nationality and Ethnicity Subcultures
2. When it comes to consumer behavior, “ancestral pride” is manifested most strongly in the
3. Nationality and ethnicity affect geographic concentration, consumption patterns, media usage
and responses to communications.
***** Use Learning Objective #12.2 Here *****
1. Latino (Hispanic) consumers are the largest ethnic subculture.
2050.
c) Hispanic Americans are younger (the median age of Hispanics is about 9 years younger
than the median age of all Americans), they are members of larger families, and they
are more likely to live in an “extended family” household—consisting of several
generations of family members.
d) Not only are Hispanic households more likely than black or non-Hispanic white
families to contain children, but Hispanics also spend more time caring for their
children.
e) The recent Census found that 77 percent live in the seven states that have Hispanic
populations of one million or more (California, Texas, New York, Florida, Illinois,
Arizona and New Jersey).
f) There are 12 distinct Hispanic subgroups now identified in the United States.
i) The three largest Hispanic subcultural groups consist of Mexican-Americans (about
*****Use Key Term ethnic subcultures Here; Use Figure #12.4 Here*****
2. African American consumers consist of 42 million persons and is estimated to grow to 70
million African Americans by 2050.
a) African American consumers currently constitute approximately 13.6 percent of the
U.S. population and have estimated purchasing power of $1 trillion.
b) More than half of African American consumers are less than 35 years of age.
c) Consumption patterns are a function of their social standing, not ethnicity.
d) African American consumers tend to prefer popular or leading brands, are brand loyal,
***** Use Hands-on Assignment #12.3 Here*****
3. The Asian American population (primarily Chinese, Filipino, Japanese, Indian, Korean, and
Vietnamese) is currently about 21 million in size and a fast-growing American minority.
a) Asian Americans are a diverse ethnic group in the United States and include the
influences of 15 different cultures and a wide range of languages.
b) Because Asian Americans are largely family-oriented, highly industrious, and strongly
driven to achieve a middle-class lifestyle, they are an attractive market for increasing
numbers of marketers.
c) Educational attainment is an important goal for this segment of the population.
d) Asian Americans are urbanized and more likely to own their own business and earn
**** Use Figures # 12.5A and #12.5B Here*****
Religious Affiliation Subcultures
1. Today, seven of the G8 nations have Christian-majority populations but by 2050, the only
2. The United States has more than 200 different organized religious affiliations (or
subcultures).
a) Of this number, Protestant denominations, Roman Catholicism, Islam, and Judaism are
the principle organized religious faiths.
*****Use Key Term religious affiliations Here; Use Learning Objective #12.3 Here*****
Geographic Subcultures
1. The United States is a large country, one that enjoys a wide range of climatic and geographic
conditions, resulting in regional identifications and geographic subcultures.
3. A national brand is a brand that is available in all fifty states.
4. In larger and more diversified countries, such as large Asian nations, geography is related to
consumption in systematic ways that are related to geography, topology, and cultural factors
like values, motives, and lifestyles.
***** Learning Objective #12.4 Here; Use Key Term geographic subcultures Here; Use
Review and Discussion Question #12.2 Here *****
Generational Subcultures
1. Five age subculture segments from the 317 million Americans are discussed (Generation
Z, Generation Y, Generation X, baby boomers, and seniors) because their distinctive
lifestyles qualify them for consideration as subcultural groups.
2. Generation Z is a cohort of people born from 1997 to the present day.
a) They are highly connected with lifelong exposure to media technology like the Internet
***** Use Learning Objective #12.5 Here; Use Key Terms Generation Z, teens, tweens,
Here; Use Figure 12.6 Here; *****
3. Millennials (Echo Boomers, Generation Y), the largest age cohort, were born between the
years 1980 and 1996 or between the late 1970s and the late 1990s (i.e., the children of the
baby boomers).
a) They are confident and have a high need for stimulation.
iv) Gadget Gurus: always looking for the next big gadgets, usually from Apple, and
will stand in line to get them first; highly egotistical, wired, free spirited, and laid
back; often create content online and tweet continuously; male dominated and
single.
v) Clean and Green Millennials: take care of themselves and support others; driven by
social causes, ecological issues, philanthropy, and positive outlooks on life.
***** Use Key Term Millennials Here*****
4. Generation X (Xers) consists of about 50 million individuals born between 1965 and 1979.
As consumers, they represent a market with a spending power in excess of $1 trillion.
a) They do not like labels, are cynical, and generally do not want to be singled out and
marketed to.
b) Unlike their parents, the baby boomers, they are in no rush to marry, start a family, or
work excessive hours to earn high salaries.
***** Use Key Term Generation X Here; Use Figure #12.9 Here*****
5. The term baby boomers refers to 78 million people that were born between 1946 and 1964.
a) They make up 40% of the U.S. adult population and 50% of all those in professional
and managerial occupations.
b) They frequently make similar purchase decisions that influence entire categories of
consumer goods
f) They enjoy buying for themselves, for their residences, and for others.
g) Yuppies – the younger segment among the baby boomers that includes urban, upwardly
mobile persons — are the most sought-after subgroup of baby boomers.
i) They are well off financially, well educated, and in professional or managerial
careers.
ii) Many buy status brand names, such as BMWs or Lexus hybrid cars, Prada shoes
and clothing, Rolex watches, expensive adventurous vacations, and scores of pricey
gadgets.
*****Use Key Term baby boomers Here; Use Figure 12.10 Here; Use Review and Discussion
Question #12.5 Here; Use Hands-on Assignments #12.9 and #12.10 Here*****
6. America is aging.
a) Projecting ahead to the year 2050, it is anticipated that more than 88 million Americans
(20% of the total population) will be 65 years of age or older.
b) Later adulthood (those who are 50 years of age or older) is the longest adult life stage
for most consumers).
iv) Interest Age —how similar a person’s interests are to those of others in his or her
age group.
*****Use Key Term cognitive age Here; Use Table 12.1 Here*****
f) Age is not necessarily a major factor in determining how older consumers respond to
marketing activities.
more knowledgeable and alert consumers.
iv) Many are “selectively innovative” and only adopt innovations that truly enhance
their lives.
i) Seniors often want to be identified not for what they did in the past but by what they
would personally like to accomplish in the future.
i) They have a strong commitment to remaining functionally young.
ii) Research has found that when considering how to advertise to seniors, older adults
have a higher liking for and better recall of emotional appeals (younger consumers
have a higher liking for and recall of rational appeals).
*****Use Figures #12.11 and #12.12 Here; Use Review and Discussion Questions #12.5 and
#12.6 Here; Use Hands-on Assignment #12.11 *****
Gender Subcultures
1. Women and men respond differently to messages and products.
a) Women show superior affect and purchase intention toward ads that are verbal,
harmonious, complex, and category oriented.
b) Men exhibit superior affect and purchase intention toward ads that are comparative,
simple, and attribute oriented.
c) Gender subcultures play an important role with respect to shopping motives.
*****Use Learning Objective 12.6 Here; Use Key Term gender subcultures Here*****
2. Within every society, it was quite common to find products that were either exclusively or
strongly associated with the members of one sex.
4. Many women feel that the media and advertising create an expectation of beauty that most
women can never achieve.
5. Working women (60% of American women 16) are one segment of the female population,
which has been segmented as follows:
6. The segments of working women are somewhat self-explanatory, but there is an important
7. Working women have also been segmented as:
a) The Independent (Single, 28 to 34 years old, with a median income of $33,200 and
college degree; busy building her career and loves it; outs off marriage and having kinds
because she does not want to have obligations to others; likes to work late, go out late,
and come and go as she pleases; aspires to buy luxury brands across categories like
b) The Mom Achiever (Working mother, 35 to 45 years old, with a median income of
$75,000); highly driven, has advanced degrees, and earned executive jobs; applies her
professional knowledge and ethics to being a mom; has a hard time leaving her job
behind; would choose a 50% pay raise over 50% more time with her kids; spends a lot
a) The Alpha Goddess (Working mother, 55-to-64-year-old, with a median income of
$69,000); knows what she wants and has the resources to get it; loves to lavish gifts on
her family, but her top purchases are for herself (e.g., luxury cars, travel, prescription
drugs); buys expensive fragrances and is influenced by celebrity endorsements;
*****Use Figure #12.13 Here; Use Review and Discussion Question #12.7 Here *****
REVIEW AND DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
12.1 Why is subcultural analysis especially significant in a country such as the United
States?
12.2 Discuss the importance of subcultural segmentation to marketers of food products.
Identify a food product for which the marketing mix should be regionalized. Explain
why and how the marketing mix should be varied across geographic areas of the
United States.
12.3 How can marketers of the following products use the material presented in this
chapter to develop promotional campaigns designed to increase market share among
African American, Hispanic American, and Asian American consumers? The products
are: (a) smartphones, (b) ready-to-eat cereals, and (c) designer jeans.
The marketers of the products listed in the question should consider the following data in
targeting African American, Hispanic American, and Asian Americans:
Targeting Hispanic Americans: This subculture has a growing population (30% of the U.S.
population by 2050; 133 million) and had purchasing power of $1.2 trillion in 2011.
Hispanic Americans are younger: In 2006, when almost 34% of Hispanics were under 18
years of age, only 25% of the U.S. population was under 18. The median age for Hispanics is
27 years of age, whereas the median age for all of America is 36 years. Hispanic Americans
have larger families, and many live in extended family households consisting of several
Targeting Asian Americans: This is the fastest growing racial segment, and includes a
diverse group including 6 major ethnicities: Chinese, Filipino, Indian, Vietnamese, Korean,
12.4 Asian Americans are a small proportion of the total U.S. population. Why are they
an important market segment? How can a marketer of tablet computers effectively
target Asian Americans?
Asian Americans are the fastest growing segment, have high incomes, tend to be well–
educated, and are concentrated in metropolitan areas. A marketer of tablet computers should
consider the diversity in countries-of-origin and language, and might rely on aspirational
12.5 In view of the anticipated growth of the over-50 market, a leading cosmetics
company is reevaluating the marketing strategy for its best-selling moisturizing face
cream for women. Should the company market the product to younger (under age 50)
as well as older women? Would it be wiser to develop a new brand and formula for
consumers over age 50 rather than trying to target both age groups with one product?
Explain your answer.
A moisturizer face cream is a product that should probably be positioned in a way depicting
the target consumer’s perceived or cognitive age rather than the individual’s chronological
age. Because most older consumers feel and consider themselves younger than their
chronological ages, developing a new brand and formula for over-50 consumers is unlikely to
be successful. Research suggests that people’s perception of their ages is more important in
12.6 Marketers realize that people of the same age often exhibit very different lifestyles.
Using the evidence presented in this chapter, discuss how developers of retirement
housing can use older Americans’ lifestyles to more effectively segment their markets.
Marketers of retirement housing should be careful to avoid falling into the myths of the
12.7 a. How should marketers promote products and services to working women? What
appeals should they use? Explain.
b. As the owner of a BMW automobile dealership, what kind of marketing and service
strategies would you use to target working women?
The marketer avoids high-pressure sales approaches and stresses sincere, polite, and helpful
salespeople. When it comes to the features a woman seeks in a new car, emphasize safety and
reliability. Address product design. For example: (1) recognizing that men and women are
generally not the same height, car makers are replacing the front “bench–type” seat with split
12.8 Identify a group that can be regarded as a subculture within your university or
college.
a. Describe the norms, values, and behaviors, of the subculture’s members.
b. Interview five members of that subculture regarding attitudes toward the use of
credit cards.
c. What are the implications of your findings for marketing credit cards to the group
you selected.
The answer to this exercise provides an interesting foundation for a class discussion. If
12.9 Interview one baby boomer and one adult Generation Y consumer regarding the
purchase of a car. Prepare a report on the differences in attitudes between the two
individuals. Do your findings support the text’s discussion of the differences between
boomers and Gen Y buyers? Explain.
12.10 Many of your perceptions regarding price versus value are likely to be different
than those of your parents or grandparents. Researchers attribute such differences to
cohort effects, which are based on the premise that consumption patterns are
determined early in life. Therefore, individuals who had experienced different
economic, political and cultural environments during their youth are likely to be
different types of consumers as adults. Describe instances in which your parents or
grandparents disagreed with or criticized purchases you had made. Describe the
cohort effects that explain each party’s position during these disagreements.
Instructor’s Discussion
This exercise is designed to demonstrate that individuals who had experienced similar
economic, political, and cultural environments during their youth share a common
generational personality in their present consumption habits. For example, older consumers
12.11 Find two good and two bad examples of advertising directed toward elderly
consumers. To what degree are these ads stereotypical? Do they depict the concept of
perceived age? How could these ads be improved by applying some of the chapter’s
guidelines for advertising to elderly consumers?
Instructor’s Discussion
The professor should provide examples for the students to analyze using the information
contained in the text. A recent review of successful marketing to older consumers indicates
S.T.A.R. PROJECTS
Ethical Issues in Consumer Behavior
S.T.A.R. Project #1
The United States is a nation of many religions. This nation was founded on each citizen’s right
to express religious beliefs and to live with religious freedom even if that freedom meant to have
no religion at all. “In God We Trust” is a great part of our heritage. In recent years, however,
organized religion and religious teaching has suffered some setbacks because of the nation’s
fundamental desire to separate church and state. For example, prayer is no longer appropriate in
schools or in certain governmental gatherings. Has this shift affected our culture? Your
assignment is to study the religious subculture section of the chapter. Write a short position paper
that outlines how marketers should ethically appeal to this subculture. What is appropriate and
what is not? Is a religious appeal by marketers appropriate at all? Comment on these issues.
Instructor’s Discussion
Small Group Projects
S.T.A.R. Project #2
Action, action, action! Those words would be appropriate to the National Organization of
Women (N.O.W.) (see www.now.org). N.O.W. has supporters and detractors. No matter how
you look at this organization you have to respect its dedication to women’s causes. Others,
however, believe that a less direct approach to women’s issues is more appropriate. Many of
these see Cosmopolitan magazine as a better spokesperson for female positions. Your group’s
which of the two organizations does a better job of addressing women’s issues. Which
organization does a better job of marketing to the female subculture? Explain your rationale.
Instructor’s Discussion
S.T.A.R. Project #4
One of the easiest ways to study marketing’s relationship to racial subcultures is to use the
Internet. Recent statistics indicate that African American and Hispanic Americans are using the
Web in increasing numbers. Therefore, marketing efforts via the Web are increasing for both of
these two groups. Your assignment is to take one (1) of the following Web sites and examine
how the Web site is making marketing appeals to its particular racial subculture. Specifically,
describe the chosen site’s marketing activities, how the site attempts to build relationships with
viewers, and how the site might impact a viewer’s consumptive behavior. Pick from these Web
sites: Black Entertainment Network (see www.bet.com); Ebony magazine (see
www.ebony.com); Univision (see www.univision.com); or, Telemundo (see
www.telemundo.com). Have each member of your group select a different site. Compare your
findings. Write a short summary paper about your findings and thoughts.
Instructor’s Discussion