"Shopping while black" is a phrase commonly used for the type of marketplace discrimination that is also called "consumer racial profiling", "consumer racism" or "racial profiling in a retail setting". Shopping while black describes the experience of being denied service or given poor service because one is black.

Overview

Most commonly, "shopping while black" involves being followed around or closely monitored by a clerk or guard who suspects you may steal, but it can also involve being denied store access, being refused service, having ethnic slurs directed at you, being searched, being asked for extra forms of identification, having your purchases limited, being required to have a higher credit limit than other customers, being charged a higher price, or being asked more rigorous questions on applications.^[1] This can be the result of store policy, or individual employee prejudice.^[2] Consumer racial profiling occurs in many retail environments including grocery stores, clothing shops, department stores and office supply shops, and companies accused of consumer racial profiling have included Eddie Bauer, Office Max, Wal-Mart, Sears, Dillard's, Macy's and Home Depot.^[1]

Shopping while black is sometimes also called "shopping while black or brown", but researchers say black people are the most frequently targeted.

Shopping while black has been extensively covered by American news media, including a hidden camera ABC News special in which actors posing as store staff harassed black customers to see how other shoppers would respond,^[3] and a Soledad O'Brien segment called "Shopping While Black", part of a CNN special on being black in America.^[4] It is usually assumed to occur mainly in the United States, but has also been reported in the United Kingdom, Canada and the Netherlands.^[5][6]

Derivation

"Shopping while black" is word play based on the name of an actual crime in the United States, driving while intoxicated, which is commonly referred to as DWI. DWI led to DWB (driving while black), which led to SWB (shopping while black). The phrase implies that a shopper may be treated poorly by store personnel or others simply because he or she is black. The concept stems from a history of institutional racism in the United States, United Kingdom and other countries, as well as references to racial profiling.^[7]