Know the major U.S. microcultural groups

Generation Microculture

• Age-based groups can be distinguished from generational groups because consumers grow out of age groups.

• People who age in the same generation belong to the same cohort—a group of people who have lived the same major experiences in their life and those experiences end up shaping their core values.

Although not everyone always agrees to the exact dates or the specific labels attached to these groups. Some of the main generational groups in the U.S. are as follows:

1. Greatest Generation

2. Silent Generation

3. Baby Boomers

4. Generation X

5. Millennials

6. Generation Z

Religious Microculture

• Religion represents one of the key institutions that shape consumer culture.

• Affiliation with a religion provides a basis for microcultures within national or regional cultures.

• Exhibit 10.5 illustrates the religious percentages in the U.S. and other select nations of the world.

• Budget allocations and consumers' food and clothing are influenced by religion.

• Stigmatization means that the consumer is marked in some way that indicates their place in society.

Ethnic Microculture

• Religion represents one of the key institutions that shape consumer culture.

• American people are very diverse.

• Their consumption is affected by heritage.

• The term culture is used for ethnic groups because of the strong ties that consumers feel toward their ethnic backgrounds.

• Exhibit 10.6 depicts the major ethnic groups in the United States.

• Hispanic Culture - Over 15 percent of all Americans

  • Bicultural is a term used to describe immigrants as they face decisions and form preferences based on their old or new cultures.

• African-American Culture - Represents about 13 percent of the U.S. population.

• Asian Culture - Represents four to five percent of the U.S. population