Hispanics in the United States spends more than $94.7 billion on consumer packaged goods products annually and is the fastest-growing ethnic group in the nation, according to a new IRI report.
The Chicago-based marketing research firm did an extensive study to better understand Hispanics and New Product Pacesetters.
IRI data indicates consumer packaged goods (CPG) marketers have a great opportunity to capture more shopping dollars from Hispanic consumers, especially if they understand some key nuances in their attitudes and preferences regarding new products, compared to those of the general consumer population.
“By 2020, Hispanics will account for over half of the population growth in the United States and their spending power will also increase significantly,” said Susan Viamari, vice president of Thought Leadership for IRI, in a press release.
“Unfortunately, most marketers don’t have easy access to detailed information on what Hispanic shoppers are buying, including in key CPG categories. This significantly limits new growth opportunities for brands, so we examined what Hispanics are buying, and even why they are buying products, to help marketers engage with these very important consumers,” added Viamari.
While Latino buying power is concentrated in select markets, including New Mexico, Texas, California, Florida, Nevada, Colorado, New Jersey, New York and Illinois, their interest in new products is spread across retail departments.
Marketing to Third Generation Latinos: It’s More than Speaking Spanish
Among those consumers who consider themselves avid new product adopters, there is a particular interest in the following departments (English-speaking Hispanics; bilingual Hispanics; Spanish-speaking Latinos; non-Hispanics):
- Food: 26% 29% 25% 23%
- Beverage: 19% 20% 13% 16%
- Beauty/Personal Care: 19% 24% 29% 12%
- Home Care: 13% 20% 29% 11%
- Health Care: 10% 13% 20% 9%
- Pet Care: 9% 8% 9% 6%
Hispanics’ attitudes toward eating truly reflect a mix of their preferences for healthy and indulgent products. For instance, 36% of Hispanics say they eat healthy half of the time and eat whatever they want the other half. An additional 36% of Hispanic consumers say they eat healthy 80% of the time and allow for indulgences 20% of the time. So, moderation is the key for most Hispanics.
“Attracting Hispanics requires an understanding of language preference, along with their digital and social preferences, to quickly see a huge opportunity for CPG across food, beauty, home and health care brands. Aligning a new product launch with the needs of Latino shoppers is rapidly becoming a critical success factor for sustained CPG and retail growth, so improved insights and activation of these shoppers can result in significant sales and market share uplift,” said Staci Covkin, principal of Consumer and Shopper Marketing for IRI.