By Lori Seidler

Identifying the likes, dislikes and abilities of the Hispanic consumer will help attract this growing market.

Next to organics, the growing population of Hispanic consumers is arguably the most talked about and focused-on segment in retail today. What is this group of shoppers — with a buying power of nearly $1 trillion — looking for in retail? What works in terms of marketing, merchandising and product design? What do they think of private label? And the big question: How can retailers get them into stores?

To respond to some of these question marks, there have been a number of studies conducted lately on the buying behaviors and social intricacies of the Hispanic consumer. The studies look to give insight to the retail industry on specific areas such as Internet usage among Hispanic consumers, shopping behaviors with regard to brand loyalty, even their perception of private label. But with all this information being delivered, the Hispanic consumer base, and its preferences and abilities within the market, aren’t as clear-cut as other demographics. For example, the key consumer in a household often is difficult to identify.

“It’s safe to say that Hispanic mothers, ages 18 to 49, make many of the household buying decisions and that they are reflective of non-Hispanic decision makers, demographically,” says Scott Marden, director of marketing research at Vertis Communications, Baltimore, Md. “Many retailers, however, are trying their best to reach the Hispanic household, but not necessarily the key decision maker. That’s something that will need to improve as multi-cultural retail programs evolve.”


While the target market for any category in retail may vary, the Hispanic market typically is thought of as being one entity, and identifying the likes, dislikes and possibilities within this entity has become a focal point for many retailers across the country.

The Best Avenue

Since the dawn of retail, one of the most successful avenues by which to spread the word about product availability is through advertising — let it be word-of-mouth, print or digital formats. And in our capricious world of ever-evolving technology, the ways in which retailers can get the word out are numerous. Yet for the Hispanic consumer, some avenues are more suitable (if not more comfortable) than others.

According to a Customer Focus Study conducted by Vertis Communications titled “Hispanics Are Tech-Savvy Consumers,” 54 percent of Hispanic households that speak only Spanish outside the home do not have access to the Internet, compared to just 4 percent who speak English outside the home.

So what’s the best way to reach these consumers? According to Marden, the response to direct mail by Hispanics is extremely strong, which may surprise some retailers.

“Many retailers pursue Hispanics through television advertising due to their affinity for that medium; however, research indicates that many Hispanics prefer print advertising, especially those with English as their primary language,” he says.

And in this regard, the Hispanic consumer is not that far removed from other consumer demographics.

“Regarding today’s digital age,” Marden continues, “when we surveyed the most tech-savvy consumers in the United States, one common response has been that in addition to online communications, they utilize print advertising at a greater rate than non-tech-savvy consumers.”

And while the report reveals that the Hispanic consumer doesn’t vary too much from other shoppers with regard to the effectiveness of print advertising, the study also found that Hispanic consumers are more tech-savvy than many believe, and in some cases more so than non-Hispanic consumers.

For example, the Vertis Communications study found that Hispanic consumers are likely to turn to online communication after reading direct mail, with 31 percent of Hispanics visiting the sender’s Web site when responding to direct mail received in the past month, compared to just 20 percent of non-Hispanic adults.

Overall, the study reveals that the Hispanic consumer base is more familiar with Internet retail, and more comfortable with making purchases online than what was previously believed. In fact, the study shows that when it comes to Internet purchases, roughly 25 percent of Hispanic Internet users purchased airline tickets, books and clothing/accessories online in the past year, with 6 percent spending more than $2,500 online during that time.

“The assumptions regarding Hispanic technology usage are similar to the assumptions of non-Hispanics,” Marden says. “Primarily, one might assume that the most significant trait of tech-savvy Hispanics is their younger age. However, when the data is analyzed, it appears older Hispanic adults are using technology as well, possibly resulting from the fact that many Hispanic households are multi-generation.”

And while there are many signs that Hispanic consumers of all generations actively use the Internet for various reasons (thus potential for online advertising) there is a drastic drop-off in the total number of Hispanic consumers who actually feel comfortable giving their credit card information over the Internet — something that must be considered when developing marketing strategies.


According to the Vertis Communications report, 39 percent of first-generation Hispanics do not feel comfortable providing credit card information online compared to the 49 percent of fifth-generation or more Hispanics. To this, the report states that only 10 percent of the total Hispanic population surveyed actually felt very comfortable sharing this information. And of that amount, first-generation Hispanics accounted for only 7 percent of those who felt comfortable sharing this information online, and only 6 percent of fifth-generation or more felt the same way. The big jump, oddly enough, comes from those individuals considered to be third- and fourth-generation Hispanics; 14 percent of these consumers have no qualms with offering up their credit card info to purchase items from the Internet.

A target market perhaps?

Where Loyalties Lie

Beyond the comfort levels of shopping online, retailers — specifically those operating private label programs — should hone in on the types of products Hispanic consumers typically buy. Who, typically, is the primary buyer within a family? What are these consumers looking for? Are these wants independent from those of non-Hispanic shoppers? In most cases, what the Hispanic consumer is looking for (i.e. quality products, value, attentive customer service) is the same as what non-Hispanic shoppers are after. However, it’s the way in which stores approach the Hispanic consumer that draws or retracts this noteworthy customer base. And in many cases, much of it depends on the predominance of the language barrier.


With regard to private label, Vertis Communications conducted a survey that identifies that packaging and private label (in general) overlooks the Spanish-speaking market.

According to the report, while 78 percent of all Hispanics in the United States have a positive perception of private label, only 61 percent of those speaking only Spanish at home maintain a similar outlook. Conversely, 88 percent of Hispanics, the report continues, who speak English at home have a positive outlook on private label brands.

So how can retailers combat the language barrier when promoting their private label products? A simple understanding of Spanish-speaking Hispanics in the United States may begin to identify ways for retailers to communicate their private label brands, Marden suggests.


“They are typically younger, of Mexican, Dominican or Columbian decent, and are first- or second-generation Americans,” he says. “And they cite direct mail and the Internet as the most influential media on their buying decisions. What’s more, these individuals are more likely than English-speaking Hispanics to welcome personal visits as an acceptable means of follow-up to their product interest.”
With this in mind, Marden suggests that door hangers with free product trials have the potential to combat some of the private label perceptions of this prospective audience.

Price vs. Perception

As with merchandising to any consumer group, there are some idiosyncrasies that must be considered in order to win customer loyalty. And retailers with private label programs, for the most part, have been doing a good job lately at catering to, and attracting, the Hispanic consumer.

To this, the Vertis Communications survey that identifies ways in which private label is overlooking the Spanish-speaking Hispanic market actually indicates that, for the most part, the Hispanic market isn’t being overlooked — it’s more a lack of communication.

According the study, 85 percent of Hispanic adults, ages 35 to 49, with incomes between $35,000 and $49,000 a year, have a positive perception of store brands.

However positive these results may be, there still is ground to be gained with regard to heightening private label’s perception in the Hispanic market. For example, according to the survey, 44 percent of total adults earning less than $20,000 a year have a negative perception of private label store brands. What’s more, 58 percent of Hispanics 50 years of age and older, making an annual income of $50,000 or less, are most likely to have negative comments about private label store brands.

It also is noted in the study that Hispanic consumers are not as focused on price — they prefer to pay more for a familiar national brand item than purchase a private label product, which often is listed on the shelf at a lower price.

“Everyone focuses on price, including Hispanics,” Marden says. “However, their perceived value of private label brands is lower than non-Hispanics and may be a result of a lack of awareness, due to not being efficiently targeted by private label marketers.”

So how can retailers compete with national brands in the eyes of Hispanic consumers, if not on price?

According to a report on Hispanic consumer shopping behavior released by The Nielsen Co., New York, in categories such as soda, laundry detergent, cereal, toothpaste and beer, “language serves as the primary measure of determining acculturation level, which influences Hispanic consumers’ brand loyalty and shopping habits.”

Nielsen finds that there is a preference among Hispanics to shop at stores that resonate with the sights, sounds, smells and sensibilities of their homeland. Retailers can create a familiar environment through product assortment, importing specialty lines and stocking items with bilingual packaging, hiring bilingual employees, posting bilingual signage and distributing bilingual coupons.

“Perceived value means different things to different people,” Vertis’ Marden emphasizes. “And many Hispanic adults consider a good value when they receive something free. This could be free trial or gift with purchase, as opposed to discounts or coupons.”

Upon looking at the studies and reports conducted in an effort to understand the tendencies of the growing Hispanic consumer market, one issue surfaces to the top most often — the language barrier. At this point in the game, a lot of potential growth is being lost on the fact that both sides don’t speak the same language (literally and figuratively). So the question stands; how will your store brand respond?