The Eruption of Technology in Traditional Medicine: How Social Media Guides the Sale of Natural Plant Products in the Sonoran Desert Region1 (Article)

Economic Botany

Volume 69, Issue 4, 1 December 2015, Pages 360-369

Semotiuk, A.J.^a , 

Semotiuk, N.L.^b, 

Ezcurra, E.^a

 

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^a  Department of Botany and Plant Sciences, University of California, Riverside, Riverside, CA, United States
^b  Department of Communications and Languages, Walla Walla University, College Place, WA, United States

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Abstract

Because the adoption of technology into traditional systems has unknown effects, we examined the hypothesis that social media aids shopkeeper selection of herbs or herbal preparations that the public is exposed to. Medicinal plant shopkeepers in southern Sonora, Mexico, were interviewed about their customer base and marketing strategy. The majority, 85%, of their customers had low to middle incomes as ranked by the shopkeepers, of which seven of seventeen incorporate social media marketing into their marketing strategy. Shopkeepers preferentially selected herbal preparations over loose herbs for online marketing. The results indicate that the incorporation of social media marketing aids a shift from herbs to herbal preparations in Sonoran traditional medicine markets. In short, social media use may act as a conditioning factor used by shopkeepers to promote herbal preparations and, in doing so, may provide a critical tool for the long–term survival of traditional plant markets, but at the risk of also contributing to the loss of the culture of home remedies and traditional domestic preparation of natural products. © 2015, The New York Botanical Garden.

Author keywords

Ethnobotany; marketing; medicinal plants; selection; social media; Sonora

ISSN: 00130001 CODEN: ECBOASource Type: Journal Original language: English

DOI: 10.1007/s12231-015-9327-6Document Type: Article

Publisher: Springer New York LLC

Funding Details

Number; Acronym; Sponsor: 14-7; UC MEXUS; University of California Institute for Mexico and the United States
Number; Acronym; Sponsor: ST-13/06-12; UC MEXUS; University of California Institute for Mexico and the United States

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  Semotiuk, A.J.; Department of Botany and Plant Sciences, University of California, Riverside, United States; email:andrewsemotiuk@gmail.com
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