It's no secret that Hispanic buying power is surging in the United States. How could it not, with an estimated population reaching nearly 58 million in 2016, an increase of almost 8 million people in just six years. Because of their approximately $1.4 trillion in buying power, retailers and marketers are heavily focused on capturing data about Hispanic shopping habits, lifestyles, and product preferences. This translates into more dollars dedicated to Hispanic-targeted marketing and advertising and...you guessed it...market research.
Luckily for marketers, Hispanics as a group are very responsive to advertising. The trick then becomes making sure your products are calibrated to your specific audience. Grocery stores are leading the charge in this regard, taking notice of the need for culturally authentic and fresh foods. According to a recent Nielsen report, Hispanic shoppers spend $175 more per year on high-end fresh foods than other consumers. Grocery chains like Kroger and Publix are increasingly catering to Hispanic shoppers in key cities.
Knowing how to target your marketing is tough when you're dealing with this subset of the population. Hispanics are not a homogenous group. To truly understand a market that spans so many countries of origin, market research is critical. And in order to reach this audience, the market research industry needs to understand how to find them. Traditional in-person intercepts are still a viable option, although the price tag associated with this kind of research is nothing to sneer at. Landline surveys alone are no longer ideal, with so many households cell phone only. But, increasingly, the Internet, and specifically, the mobile web, is a great way to reach an Hispanic audience. According to the Pew Research Center, Hispanic Americans own smartphones at similar levels to Caucasians and African Americans. And Spanish dominant Hispanics are online at greater numbers than ever before.
While retailers are scrambling to understand Hispanic shopper behavior, research providers are working to overcome some of the hurdles involved in obtaining the much-needed Hispanic viewpoint needed by those retailers to target their marketing and products. Language preference needs to be considered, as does demographic profile in general, when selecting a methodology that will reach the desired consumers. The survey needs to be configured to reach the right people, in the right place, at the right time, in the right language. That's a lot of "rights"! And the answer is rarely a one-size-fits-all approach. Working with diverse sourcing and multiple modes of data collection can help deliver the big picture. And appending consumer data points such as those available through our decisionPointsTM product can enrich your research data even further, allowing for more finely targeted marketing, especially critical for this richly diverse audience.
The way companies market to their prospects and customers has changed a lot in the digital age, and so has the way we conduct research. In a country that has truly become a melting pot, it will be increasingly critical that we continue to look for the ways people are different as well as the ways they are the same, if we want to reach them to get their opinions, and reach them with messaging that truly resonates.