“Shopping while Black”: Black consumers’ management of racial stigma and racial profiling in retail settings

This article draws on qualitative interview data collected from 55 African Americans residing in the New York City area to examine African Americans’ experiences of consumer racial profiling or “Shopping While Black.” I find that racial discrimination alters African Americans’ experiences as consumers. Racial stigma in retail settings impacts the consumptive process for Blacks in two central ways. First, retail settings are often sites where...