Social class differentials in the store selection process of single black professional women

Abstract

Black single professional women form a growing and little researched market. This study hypothesized that there are significant social class differences in prepurchase store screening and in actual store choice process. Findings indicated that there were significant differences among groups in preplanning the number of garments, using catalogues, and seeking information from sales clerks. There were no significant differences in types of stores patronized, and store loyalty appeared low overall. It was concluded, both in prepurchase screening and during purchases, that social class played almost no significant role in store selection. However it appeared that single black professional women, unlike other nonblack samples studied, tended to rely on store characteristics and features more than on informational search and process or an all-out store search. If additional comparative studies substantiate this finding, there are strong implications for retailing strategies.