Race, Segmentation, Studies and International Context of a City of African Descent: A Study in Salvador – BA

Abstract

Stimulated by the increase of African descendants’ purchasing power in Brazil, the market has been preparing itself for this specific spectrum of consumers. In the capital of Bahia, according to current standards, 12% of the population have an income exceeding ten times the minimum wage, of which a mere 1.7% are African descendants. Contemporary international studies have proven skin color is a predominant factor concerning segmentation occurring in other countries. The principal objective of this study is to analyze the issue of ethnicity as segmentation criteria in the city of Salvador. In addition, the study also covers the specific behavior found in this group of consumers. We surveyed a sample of 400 consumers, whose consumer habits were analyzed and the findings were extrapolated for the population of Salvador. Our results indicate ethnicity is behind the behavioral differences within influential groups, demonstrating that black people prefer to socialize with people of their own race. Additional results have found that the reasons influencing the action of purchase vary by ethnic origin: African descendants are more attentive to price and sales, whilst Caucasians are more affected by trends. DOI: 10.5585/remark.v9i1.2155