Kids count in growing Hispanic sector

With 46 million Hispanics in the US, spending power of nearly a trillion dollars, and population growing at an above average rate, Hispanics are said to have an increasingly powerful influence on the American consumer economy. The report predicts that Hispanics will account for 30 percent of the entire US population by 2030, so understanding cultural factors that differentiate Hispanics from non-Hispanics will become even more important, with children playing a particularly significant role.

Packaged Facts cited a Simmons National Consumer Survey which found that amongst Hispanics, 31 percent of men and 32 percent of women claim that their kids have a “significant impact on the brands they buy”​ compared to 18 percent of non-Hispanic men and 25 percent of non-Hispanic women.

In addition, a survey of 1,000 Hispanic adults found that they are more likely than non-Hispanics to find it difficult to say no to their children – at over 40 percent, compared to around a third for non-Hispanics.

In terms of advertising, it said: “Both men and women in the Latino community are much less likely to believe that advertising to kids is wrong. They also are much more likely to see a positive side to advertising as it relates to their children.”​

Last month, a report from market researchers IRI named Hispanics as a group presenting “untapped opportunities” ​for food manufacturers, and this latest research highlights additional ways in which marketing could be targeted towards Hispanic shoppers.

Natural and organic​

Apart from children’s influence, the report also highlighted the preferences of older Hispanic people, who are leading the way on many cross-demographic trends, such as the current interest in organic and natural products.

“Hispanic men and women in the 45- to 54-year-old age group and Hispanic women in the 55- to 64-year-old age group are especially more likely to shop for organic and natural foods,”​ the report said.

Older Hispanics are also well-positioned to take an interest health and wellness, a trend named by Frost & Sullivan last week as one on which companies should focus in order to successfully navigate the economic crisis.

Dieting​

According to figures from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Hispanics have obesity rates over ten percent higher than the US average.

This could go some way to explaining the report’s finding that older Hispanic men are “much more likely to be on a diet most of the time” ​than their non-Hispanic counterparts. Hispanic men over 44, it said, were also more likely to count calories and feel guilty about eating sweets.

The current Hispanic population accounts for roughly 15 percent of the total US population, according to the market analysts Nielsen. Nearly 27 million Latinos, or 60 percent of the Hispanic population, were born in the United States.