’Those foods aren't part of Swedish traditions and don't belong here’ : An analysis of responses to retail stores' online advertisement addressing Ramadan
Research shows that consumption is an everyday practice, fundamentally shaping individualand collective identities. Consumers are also becoming central political actors. In Sweden,there is limited scientific research on experiences of everyday racism while consuming both atthe level of the individual experience and at the level of the diverse forms of collective andindividual consumer mobilization. This study uses digital netnography to analyze onlineresponses to Swedish retail stores (mainly large grocery stores chains) social mediaadvertisement directed towards customers that celebrate Ramadan/Eid. The advertisementposts mainly contain special offers on certain items. Altogether 19 social media advertisementposts, that together have generated 2988 replies in discussion threads, have been included andanalyzed through a qualitative thematic analysis. The results show that the advertisement postsdirected towards Muslim customers and the online responses to the advertisements are bothinclusive (you are welcome to do your shopping here), in line with market logics, and highlyexcluding in the way co-customers react to the inclusive approach of Muslim customers andtraditions. All in all, the discussion threads following the advertisements make visible, andreproduce, nationalist, as well as racist, discourses within the Swedish society. For social work,to be able to be a catalyst for change, it is vital to uncover and acknowledge the existence of57societal power structures that make individuals everyday practices, such as grocery shopping orfollowing the local grocery store’s social media account, highly exposed practices