Although everyone goes shopping, not everyone’s shopping experience is the same. Marissa Kearney, creator of Target while Black and Retail While Black, realized early on the differences black and brown people face when they enter stores.
During the holiday season of 2020, Kearney was taken aback when she saw a Black Santa Claus figurine displayed on the shelves of Target. A small display that showed Black people enjoying the holiday season was a sight she had never seen before.
Inspired by that moment, she has since used Instagram to grow her following to over 240k by raising awareness of Black-owned and Black-founded businesses. Through social media, she shows the world the importance of supporting Black businesses by highlighting and reviewing Black-owned or Black-founded products. And with every post, she impacts consumers and business owners nationwide.
Here’s how Kearney became an advocate for black-owned businesses and their consumers.
What is the Black shopping experience?
Following the George Floyd incident, Kearney has seen stores shift their products to accommodate and support more black-owned businesses and customers. Yet to overall enhance the black shopping experience, Kearney says it needs to be intentional on both the side of the retailer and the consumer.
She describes the Black shopping experience in two parts: ” It means going into stores and knowing there will be products to support the specific needs of the Black community. It also means leveling the business opportunities for Black-owned businesses.”
The Black shopping experience helps to provide financial support and spending power to Black communities.
However, beyond this support, the Black shopping experience helps Black consumers confidently walk into stores knowing they can find what they are looking for. It’s about knowing they can get what they want, and being a person with darker pigmentation or different hair texture won’t be a barrier in shopping.
Kearney notes, “just because it’s a Black-owned product doesn’t mean it’s only for black people.”
What does Black-owned really mean?
A controversial aspect of the Black shopping experience is that Black-owned might not always mean 100 per cent Black-owned. As a result, some consumers feel they only want to buy products that are 100 per cent owned and run by Black business owners. However, this expectation is often unrealistic.
Since Kearney runs a platform focused on Black-owned businesses, she has first-hand experience with this subject.
“When it comes to being 100 per cent Black-owned, I fully understand where that comes from and why we would want to support that type of ownership,” Kearney shares. “However, most Black-owned businesses are self-funded because they don’t have access to capital. So if those businesses need extra funding, I don’t think we should be slapping the hands of businesses who did what they needed to do to grow.”
Because of this reality, Kearney focuses on promoting Black-owned businesses with 51 per cent Black or more ownership, the same scale retailers use. It’s important to note that this label differs from saying a company is Black-founded, a business founded by a Black person, but that person may no longer have a stake in the company.
“It’s not unrealistic to have brands that are 100 per cent Black ownerships,’ Kearney admits, “but we have to stop being so stringent on our community for doing what is necessary to grow.”
Guided by this understanding, Kearney has found and highlighted an array of Black-owned products—from Black-owned skincare and makeup to a Black-owned toilet paper company.
One of her favorite products is the Flipstik; a simple device you can attach to your phone that will allow you to stick your device to any flat service. In essence, it frees cellphone users from tripods and or finding weird angles; thus becoming an invaluable tool for content creators everywhere.
In addition to finding unique gadgets and products, highlighting the Black shopping experience has made a huge difference in Kearney’s life.
“I have such a hard time shopping now because I’ll go in stores, and if nothing is Black-owned, or Asian-owned or Latin owned, I don’t want to shop there,” she admits. “I need retailers to show up for the community, or I can’t be there.”
By intentionally deciding where to shop, she harnesses her consumer power. Yet some haven’t agreed with how she chooses to shop with comments such as “I don’t get why you’re shopping for skin color?”
Yet Kearney challenges people to understand that it isn’t about skin color when we say shop Black. It’s simply about supporting a community that has had less access to capital for decades and still to this day.
“We are saying, support our business because we had communities where Black businesses were burned to the ground,” she stresses. “They hear skin color, and they don’t hear community building.”
And to truly uplift the community, it will take more support from consumers and retailers. One of Marissa’s hopes for the future is to see more big-name retailers use their advertising dollars to better market minority-owned businesses.
Kearney’s advice for Black consumers and Black-owned businesses
Kearney confidently feels that the shopping experience will completely change in five years and shares some things to keep in mind during your next shopping trip.
- For consumers: Focus on making one change. Look at which products you use and choose one to switch out for a Black-owned or minority-owned business.
- For Black-owned business owners: Expanding into retail stores can be expensive. “ Start small; start with test markets or fifty stores,” Kearney recommends. “ You have to be able to scale and scale well. Also, make sure your buyer understands your strengths and weakness. Don’t let them bulldog you into doing more than you can.”
- For consumers: Give grace. “ People think that Black-owned can mean lower quality or you’re not going to like it, and it’s possible that you’re not going to like the product, but you might like the next one, ” she shares. “You still have to find what works for you.”
- For business owners: “Ask for help from other Black-owned businesses, don’t feel like you have to do it yourself,” she shares. “Reach out to other founders; they have no problem helping you.”
Remember that supporting minority-owned businesses is supporting everyone!
