The effects of bilingualism on the consumer: the case of Spain

Analyses the influence of the use of Spanish and of regional languages in consumers and homes of five bilingual regions of Spain: Balearic Islands, Basque Country, Catalonia, Galicia and Valencia. After eliminating the effects of social class and of habitat, a fair number of significant differences have been found between speakers of Castilian (i.e. Spanish), bilinguals and speakers of their own vernacular language, in very varied areas: food, drinks, home cleaning products, financial services, cosmetics and personal hygiene products, shopping stores, reading of newspapers, supplements and magazines, home equipping and makes of car. Language has revealed itself as a good criterion for segmentation in various sectors and regions in order to reach each linguistic group more efficiently.