When the “Model Minority” Becomes the “Perpetual Foreigner”: Racial Discrimination Against Asian Americans in Retail

Abstract

According to a report by Stop AAPI Hate (Yellow Horse et al., 2021), racial discrimination against Asian Americans during the COVID-19 pandemic occurred in businesses such as grocery stores, malls, and restaurants (30.1%) and most were in the forms of verbal harassment (63.7%) and shunning (16.5%). In other words, many Asian Americans experienced racial discrimination in retail environments during the pandemic. Yet, despite the negative experiences in retail, studies on the forms of racial discrimination Asian American consumers faced during the pandemic and in their everyday lives have been lacking. The purpose of this study is to close this gap and debunk the assumption that Asian Americans do not experience racial discrimination due to the “model minority” myth (Gee & Peck, 2018). Also, to highlight the experiences of Asian Americans to inform retailers about the consumer group that is increasing in numbers and buying power (Constante, 2018; Nielsen, 2020). Moreover, the researcher proposes and tests a theoretical framework that synthesizes the literature on attributional ambiguity theory, racial microaggressions, and consumer research on attribution, emotions, and behaviors. To answer research questions and test the theoretical model, one-on-one semi-structured interviews were conducted, and 18 East Asian Americans participated in the interviews. Two overt racial discrimination themes emerged from the interviews: No Asians in here please, All you Asians… Seven racial microaggression themes were found: Less than, The perpetual foreigner, Carriers of the virus, Invisible, Not a target customer, Stereotyped customers, and All the same. Three attribution themes were detected: Employee’s negative attitude towards Asian Americans, Lack of contact with Asian Americans, and Ambiguous. Moreover, emotional responses were mostly other-directed (e.g., frustrated, irritated, and angry). Lastly, four behavioral response themes were discovered: Negative OCR, Direct complaint, No repatronage, and No action taken against the employee or retailer. Theoretical implications and future research are discussed for researchers and practical implications are provided for retailers and retail employees in terms of retail management.