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Racial-minority business owners can benefit from 'white guilt,' marketing study finds

Researchers who explored how consumers' ethical values can shape their shopping habits suggest that business owners from marginalized racial groups can appeal to socially conscious consumers by highlighting their identity, helping promote racial equity through values-driven purchasing.

The study, published in the , focused on white American consumers. Participants were measured for "white guilt"—a feeling of guilt over historical and systemic racial injustices—using a validated psychological scale.

The researchers found that individuals who experienced higher levels of "white guilt" were more likely to buy from Black-owned businesses than from a white-owned one, even when the minority-owned options were more expensive or had lower customer ratings. It also showed that this guilt was a better predictor of support for minority-owned businesses than a person's political views.

The findings were based on six studies the researchers conducted between 2021 and 2024. Four of the studies were surveys, and two involved simulating real world purchasing choices.

"The marketplace is becoming increasingly shaped by ideology and values," said Siddhanth Mookerjee, an assistant professor in the McGill Desautels Faculty of Management and one of the authors of the paper. Other members of the team came from Toronto Metropolitan University, Queen's University and the University of British Columbia. "Consumers are driven by their moral principles—not just by price or quality."

The propensity of some white consumers to go out of their way to back minority-owned businesses is at odds with the typical in-group favoritism usually documented in social psychology, Mookerjee said, and could potentially help address the structural disadvantages faced by minority-owned businesses in the United States in areas like access to startup funding and profit generation.

"It reflects a form of moral reparations and allyship," he said.

For minority business owners, the takeaways are:

• Use racial cues strategically: Subtle indicators like photos of minority owners or "Black-owned" labels can positively influence consumer behavior, especially when targeted toward liberal-leaning audiences.
• Segment and target carefully: Marketers advertising on social media platforms (e.g., Facebook, Instagram) can segment and target based on liberal political interests, which positively correlate with white guilt. They can also place race-conscious promotional or marketing material in outlets where liberal consumers are already engaged (e.g. cause-based podcasts).
• Authenticity is crucial: Small and medium-sized businesses that are minority-owned should not hesitate to highlight their identity, provided it is authentic.

Next, the research team plans to test how Canadian consumers respond to minority-owned labels in retail settings.