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Are Black Men Saving Luxury Retail During the Pandemic?
Black purchasing power is growing far faster than its White counterpart — and now we need to figure out how to leverage it
Update 6/7/22: Level has a new home. You can read this article and other new articles by visiting LEVELMAN.com.
Since March, when New York City first shuttered its offices, restaurants, and most retail, I’ve done virtually all my shopping online. I was never an online shopper, but now I don’t know how I existed this long. This has been a vast shift in my spending patterns. Before, I traveled often, and ate out on a daily basis even when I was home in New York. Now, I cook — which is only possible because I ordered my first set pots and pans online. (Don’t judge me.) I even watch cooking competition shows on Netflix.
Just recently, though, I returned to a brick-and-mortar location for the first time in months — a luxury department store on Manhattan’s Fifth Avenue. I was anxious before I walked in. Questions circled in my head. Would it be crowded? Would adequate safety measures be in place? Would shoppers adhere to the mask policy?
The one question I didn’t foresee myself asking, though, was where are the White people?
