Bilingual Signs: How Language Influences Shoppers

Abstract

A growing use of bilingual signage among retailers in the United States begs the question, How do shoppers react to bilingual signs? How is such signage processed by consumers, what does it signal, and to what effect? Drawing from a national panel of American consumers, we exposed participants to examples of English, bilingual, or Spanish signage in a program of experiments that measured behavioral intentions, attitudes toward the stores and signs, and various expectations, perceptions, and impressions. Results show a direct effect of the language of the sign on shoppers’ behavioral intentions to engage with and buy from a store. Evidence shows that evaluations of signs shape evaluations of the stores they represent. Additionally, the language used on signs shapes shoppers’ expectations of service quality, with bilingual signs engendering favorable impressions of authenticity, inclusiveness, and interestingness. Signs using only a foreign language, by contrast, tend to lower expectations of service, communication, and inclusiveness.