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The purpose of this paper is to examine differences between Hispanic and Asian immigrants and their preferences in the appearance of and interaction with salespeople.

A total of 171 female Hispanic and 153 Asian female retail consumers in a midwestern city, who immigrated to the USA, were surveyed. Salesperson‐customer interaction and preference for salespeople with a similar ethnic appearance were assessed.

Findings from F‐tests indicated that in this study Asians have a significantly greater preference for a salesperson similar in appearance to themselves and Hispanics have significantly greater preference for salespeople who offer attentive service.

Retailers will benefit by understanding and capitalizing on differences which will encourage customer loyalty to their retail stores.

Extending the observable characteristics facet of the buyer‐seller similarity model, the research results suggest that buyers from different ethnic groups will assess salesperson characteristics differently.

The purpose of this study is to examine the degree of ethnic identity and demographic characteristics (the length of residency in the USA, education, income, age, and origin of ethnicity) in relation to brand purchases for status.

The research is based on a survey of 324 retail customers of Hispanics (n=173) and Asians (n=151) with analysis performed using regression analysis, t‐tests, and ANCOVA.

The stronger an immigrant identifies with his/her ethnic culture, the more likely he/she is to purchase high‐priced branded products for status purposes. Immigrants with higher incomes are more likely to purchase high‐ priced prestige brands. Younger immigrants report a greater propensity to purchase high‐priced prestige brands. No relationship with the dependent variable was found with length of time in the USA, education, and origin of ethnicities of immigrants.

The major contribution of this research is to demonstrate the importance of ethnic identity strength, to reveal the major demographic variables on immigrant consumer behaviors, and to identify means by which practitioners can effectively use ethnicity strength, income, and age to target immigrant consumers.