Hispanic Consumers: Not All the Same

Differences in Shopping Behavior and Media Usage Among U.S. Born & Non-U.S. Born Hispanics


COLUMBUS, OH--(Marketwire - May 3, 2010) -  The U.S. Hispanic community continues to swell and the message is loud and clear to marketers, "one-size-fits-all marketing won't work." According to an analysis of the BIGresearch® Simultaneous Media Usage® Survey (SIMM®-Dec 09), there are some key similarities and differences every marketer should know about Hispanic groups in America including those households that speak English a majority of the time and those who don't, as well as Hispanics who were born in the U.S. and those who were not.

For example, shopping and media preferences of English dominant Hispanics (speak English more than 50% of the time) and those born in the U.S. are mostly similar. Likewise the preferences of Spanish dominant Hispanics (speak English 50% or less of the time) and those not born in the U.S. are very similar.

    English dominant Hispanics   Spanish dominant Hispanics
Top 3 Stores Shopped   and U.S. Born Hispanics   and Non-U.S. Born Hispanics
for Women's Clothing:   Macy's   Macy's
    Walmart   JCPenney
    Kohl's   Walmart
Top 3 Stores Shopped        
for Electronics   Best Buy   Best Buy
    Walmart   Walmart
    Target   Amazon
         
Top 3 Radio Formats   Rock   Latin
    Top 40/Pop   Rock
    Hip-Hop   Hip-Hop

When it comes to new media, English dominant and U.S.-born Hispanics are more likely to text on their cell phones and use TiVo/DVR while Spanish dominant Hispanics and those not born in the U.S. are more likely to blog and use instant messaging.

New Media Usage (Regular) - Hispanics                
             
    English dominant   U.S. Born   Spanish dominant   Non-U.S. Born
Blog   12.9%   12.7%   20.2%   20.1%
Instant Message   29.9%   29.5%   44.1%   38.7%
Text Message on Cell Phone   49.6%   49.3%   44.7%   44.4%
TiVO/DVR   29.7%   30.1%   21.2%   22.9%

Regarding traditional media, English dominant (94%) and U.S Born (93.5%) Hispanics are slightly more likely to watch TV in an average week than Spanish dominant (92%) and Non-U.S. born (90.8%) Hispanics. The latter groups are more likely to read the newspaper [Spanish dominant (64.4%) and Non-U.S. born (62.7%) v. English dominant (55.7%) and U.S Born (54.5%)].

"Not only does this data show us the power of Hispanics as consumers, but more importantly it also shows us how crucial it is for marketers to understand the importance of segmenting Hispanics in order to effectively reach all the niche markets within the Hispanic population," said Mariana Toledo, Marketing and Research Director, Televisa Publishing + Digital.

One thing all these segments have in common is that they are planning to buy. Whether it's a car, electronics or vacation travel, Hispanics outpace the general market when it comes to purchase intentions.

Plan to Buy Within Next 6 Months                    
                 
    English dominant   U.S. Born   Spanish dominant   Non-U.S. Born   Adults 18+
Car   15.9%   14.7%   16.8%   19.6%   11.8%
Computer   24.6%   22.7%   27.9%   28.4%   18.6%
TV   22.9%   21.1%   20.0%   22.4%   16.1%
Vacation   24.5%   23.1%   28.2%   26.1%   21.6%

For the full complimentary report including purchases intentions and top media influences: http://info.bigresearch.com

About BIGresearch®
BIGresearch is a consumer intelligence firm providing analysis of behavior in areas of products and services, retail, financial services, automotive and media. BIGresearch conducts the monthly Consumer Intentions and Actions® Survey (CIA®) of 8,000+ respondents and the semi-annual Simultaneous Media Usage® Survey (SIMM®) of 15,000+ respondents. More information is available at