Hispanic purchasing trends vary by region, reveals report

Published by Packaged Facts, the report focuses on regional characteristics of consumer behavior within this group, including the impact of Spanish language advertising on Hispanics in different areas.

Indeed, with the buying power of Latinos last year totaling $768bn, the growing importance of this consumer segment has resulted in a stream of new foods and flavors appearing on the US market, designed specifically to appeal to Hispanic tastes.

However, the new report suggests that different populations within the group could respond differently to products and advertising.

"There are significant variations in the attitudes and behavior of Latino consumers in major metro and regional markets as well as among various national subgroups. These differences create opportunities that are uniquely related to the profile of Latino consumers in individual markets,"​ said the report.

Based on responses from 7,500 Hispanic adults living in 24 major metropolitan areas and nine regions in the US, the report reveals that Mexicans remain the dominant force in the national Hispanic market, making up 64 percent of the total population. At 9 percent, Puerto Ricans are the second largest Latino group, followed by Cubans at 3.5 percent.

And according to Packaged Facts, Puerto Ricans and Cubans are the most likely to have a higher level of identification with US culture than with their original culture. In contrast, Central Americans, South Americans, and Dominicans are more likely to retain a higher level of identification with their original culture.

However, the group's attachment to Hispanic food remains one of the core values transcending the segmentation of the Hispanic market.

"Even in the most acculturated markets and national subgroups, the vast majority (84 percent) of Latinos say they enjoy eating traditional Hispanic food,"​ said the report.

This remains a significantly higher proportion than the 66 percent who say they enjoy eating traditional American food.

But there remain significant differences across regional and metropolitan markets with respect to the food preferences of Latinos. For example, Hispanics in San Antonio and Dallas are more likely to say they enjoy eating traditional American food, while those living in Los Angeles and Miami are least likely.

This could be connected to the generation profiles of Hispanic consumers in these regions. San Antonio, Houston and Dallas have above-average percentages of US-born Hispanics, with the number reaching its peak in San Antonio, which has 75 percent of second- and third-plus Hispanic generations in the above 18 age group. In contrast, Miami has only 19 percent, but this population is the most affluent in the Latino consumer market, followed by San Francisco.

Pride in the Hispanic heritage is most prominent in New York and Chicago.

When it comes to Spanish language advertising, Hispanics living in Chicago and Miami are most likely to remember products advertised in their language. Latinos in Miami are also most likely to consider in-language ads to be important in their purchasing decisions (37 percent) and to depend on Spanish-language labeling for help in selecting products (46 percent).

Compared to Latinos in other regions of the country, those living in the Southeast region are most likely to remember products advertised in Spanish (46 percent) and to say that Spanish-language advertising is important in purchasing decisions (42 percent). They also depend the most on Spanish-language labeling (51 percent).

Puerto Ricans are the least likely group to be affected by Spanish advertising, with this being important for only 25 percent of them.

However, the report suggests that the real value of Spanish-language advertising lies in its ability to engender respect and elicit loyalty from Latino consumers.

"Regardless of national heritage or place of residence, the percentage of Hispanic consumers who say that Spanish-language advertising is important in their purchasing decisions is far lower than the percentage of those who say they are loyal to companies advertising in Spanish and the proportion of those who report feeling respect for companies advertising in Spanish."

The 43 million Latinos living in the US currently account for 14.4 percent of the total US population. Between 2000 and 2005, the Hispanic population grew nearly seven times faster than the non-Hispanic population (21 percent compared to 3 percent).

Natural increase in now more important than immigration as a driver of the population growth, with births accounting for 56 percent of growth between 2000 and 2005. However, as with cultural identity, growth rates also vary across different regions. For example, the number of Latinos in the Southeast grew more than twice as fast as the Hispanic population in the Northeast (15 percent compared to 36 percent).

The total buying power of Latinos in the US is expected to grow from $837.8 billion in 2006 to nearly $1.3 trillion in 2011, with the combined buying power of Hispanics living in the Southeast and Pacific regions expected to continue representing the largest segment of the national Hispanic market. These groups alone are forecast to hold a total buying power of $737 billion in 2011.