Asian American Buying Patterns

About 70 percent of Asian Americans are immigrants, and most are under the age of 30. Asian Americans are the fastestgrowing racial/ethnic subculture in the United States.
The Asian subculture is composed of Chinese, Japanese, Filipinos, Koreans, Asian
Indians, people from Southeast Asia, and Pacific Islanders. The diversity of the Asian
subculture is so great that generalizations about buying patterns of this group are
difficult to make.39 Consumer research on Asian Americans suggests that individuals
and families divide into two groups. Assimilated Asian Americans are conversant
in English, highly educated, hold professional and managerial positions, and exhibit
buying patterns very much like the typical American consumer. Nonassimilated
Asian Americans are recent immigrants who still cling to their native languages and
customs. The diversity of Asian Americans evident in language, customs, and tastes
requires marketers to be sensitive to different Asian nationalities. For example,
Anheuser-Busch’s agricultural products division sells eight different varieties of
California-grown rice, each with a different Asian label to cover a range of nationalities
and tastes. The company’s advertising also addresses the preferences of Chinese, Japanese, and Koreans for different kinds of rice bowls. Studies show that the Asian American subculture as a whole is characterized by hard work, strong family ties, appreciation for education, and median family incomes exceeding those of any other ethnic group. This subculture is also the most entrepreneurial in the United States, as evidenced by the number of Asian-owned businesses.
These qualities led Metropolitan Life Insurance to identify Asian Americans as a target for insurance following the company’s success in marketing to Hispanics. Target often uses Spanish
language advertising to communicate to the Hispanic community in the United States.