The buying power of African-Americans is projected to reach $1.8 trillion by 2024. However, the experiences of African-Americans in most retail stores, when they are in the best possible position to buy, does not reflect any interest in capturing this buying power. In colloquial terms, retailers are “leaving money on the table” — a lot of money on the table. Retailers need to realize that the practice of racism in stores is negatively impacting their bottom line. Moreover, this practice is having a negative impact on the mental and physical health of the Black population.
The Reality: Shopping While Black
In a study of Black middle-class shoppers in the New York City area:
- 80% reported experiencing racial stigma and stereotypes when shopping;
- 59% reported being perceived as a shoplifter;
- 52% said they received poor or no service;
- 52% reported being perceived as poor.
I personally have been followed around stores, pointed to the ‘on sale’ section without asking, and been completely ignored when seeking help from sales associates. I have even had store employees call the police and accuse me of shoplifting. In my book, Black People Breathe, I share that I was on a cross-country camping road trip through national parks. I had just spent $220 at a grocery store and was putting groceries in the trunk of my car when the police arrived with their sirens and threats. Even though I had shown them the receipt, the police insisted that I stole deli meat, as was reported by the grocery store staff. I am a vegan, and the invasive search of my camping gear, clothes and all of my belongings took several hours.
This vegan’s mystery meat was never found; however, the impact of this experience was twofold. First, I will never shop at any of this store’s locations ever again, and I will always tell anyone that I know to never shop at this store. Second, the impact on my mental health was severe. I experienced everything from anxiety to hypervigilance to depression. Even though I care deeply about the environment, I always get a paper receipt now. I’m constantly looking over my shoulder when in stores, and this discomfort is not conducive to being in the mood to spend money.
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The Impact on Sales and Health Outcomes
According to a study by Sephora, shoppers who expect to experience racism cope in ways that have a negative impact on how much they buy. They will avoid sampling to prevent accusations of shoplifting, and less sampling leads to less sales. They prepare a shopping plan in advance to reduce the amount of time they spend in the store; less time in-store means less browsing, which ultimately leads to less sales.
After experiencing racial bias at a store, 60% of BIPOC shoppers are unlikely to visit that specific location again, and 40% are unlikely to visit any store location. What might seem like a one-time event from a retailer’s perspective can lead to permanent consequences to revenue.
While company financials are important, they do not reflect the full picture of the impact. I mentioned the impact on my mental health from that one experience. David R. Williams, Professor at Harvard School of Public Health, explains that “reports of discrimination are linked to worse mental health” and we see “higher levels of everyday discrimination linked to increased obesity. We see it linked to a broad range of health outcomes…incident diabetes, incident cardiovascular disease, incident breast cancer…as well as a range of other underlying indicators of chronic disease, such as inflammation. So the evidence is clear: These little indignities add up and take a toll on individuals.”
Racism in retail stores is impacting both mental and physical health outcomes for Black people, who have already experienced generations of trauma in this country.
Taking Action
By taking no action retail executives are allowing the status quo of racism in stores to continue, thereby impacting both company profits and public health in the Black community. You might be wondering what you can do about it. There are no silver bullet solutions; however, consider the following:
Create strategies for impact, not PR. Ask yourself whether the initiatives you have in place will have a direct impact on the in-store shopping experiences of the Black community. Many initiatives feel like they check the DEI box and are more for branding and PR. Adding a “we support Black-owned businesses” line to your website just won’t cut it.
Conduct an implicit bias assessment as part of the job application process, especially for frontline staff. Assessing how a job applicant might treat customers, and in this case BIPOC customers, is a huge step toward being intentional about who you are hiring and what you want the customer experience to be for all customers.
Hire more Black people in leadership so that Black voices are reflected in decisions around company operations, especially around the customer experience. Apple’s decision to push a tone deaf message to customers using Black History Month to encourage usage of their app is a clear example of what happens when there aren’t Black voices with a seat at the table.
Require mandatory implicit and explicit bias training along with cultural sensitivity training for all staff on a regular cadence (i.e. not just a one-time event). There are many online trainings that have little to no impact, because participants can passively click from video to video and are judged on “completion” rather than their understanding or any commitments to act differently. Ideally these are live trainings requiring discussion and genuine engagement and learning.
Create an accountability structure that allows stores to monitor customer interactions, including random checks with employees for quality control. Many organizations have an anti-discrimination policy in their employee handbooks, which almost no one actually reads. Statements by CEOs in companywide meetings can only go so far. To create real change, real action needs to occur, and accountability is exactly how to get there.
Zee Clarke is a Harvard MBA who went from leading teams at Fortune 500 companies and startups in Silicon Valley to teaching mindfulness and breathwork to people of color. Why? After experiencing a number of race related challenges, from racial profiling and harassment by the police to microaggressions in the workplace, she realized that mindfulness and breathwork were much more powerful outside of the yoga studio and in the context of our everyday lives. Trained in India, Clarke leverages her toolkit of yoga, meditation, breathwork, sound healing and Reiki to ensure that all people of color have the tools to thrive despite any challenges that race, gender or sexuality might present.
