ATLANTA -- There is much hand-wringing in the convenience store industry concerning how to market and capture the growing Hispanic population in the United States.
The acculturated Hispanicssecond generation and beyondare very similar to non-Hispanics in their shopping habits and preferences. It's the unacculturated Hispanics, those who prefer speaking Spanish and retain much of their culture and homeland habits, who demand alternative merchandising and marketing from retailers and suppliers. The latter group was the main focus of Friday's NACS Show 2007 [image-nocss] Show workshop, "Escucha! Selling to Hispanic Consumers."
Nicolas Medina, the global inclusion and diversity coordinator for ExxonMobil Fuels Marketing, said nothing could be assumed across the board, given the different Hispanic regions and cultures, but one thing stands out in attracting first-generation Hispanics: "Hire more Latinos."
"They want to be recognized and treated with dignity," Medina said of group that is often uncomfortable in its new land and culture and language. "They want good value."
Medina and David Morse, CEO of New American Dimensions, an ethnic marketing research firm, provided all the usual data on explosive Hispanic population growth in the United States, and some less usual numbers. For instance, 75% of U.S. Hispanics are first- or second-generation; the purchasing power of U.S. Hispanics is $800 billion; there are new regional magnets for Hispanics. The Southeast, Midwest, the states of Washington, Nevada and Utah are drawing immigrants away from traditional centers, like Texas, California and Illinois. Growth has been largest in Georgia, the Carolinas, Arkansas and Tennessee; increases in Greensboro and Charlotte, N. C., were 694% and 622%, respectively.
That new growth is speeding acculturation because there is not as much of a support group to fall back on. Medina said the pace of acculturation is about 15 to 20 years for immigrants. Until then, they are family-centric, more so than other minorities; the median age of native-born Hispanics is 17, and 50% of all U.S. Hispanics are 17 or younger. Those figures are a good start for the strategies of marketers, suppliers and retailers.
"They are acculturating, they are changing," said Morse.
Morse said unacculturated mothers are looking for products from c-stores that will help them cook family meals. Until they acculturate, they will shun packaged goods because of the perception that the family needs meals from scratch, and because she is used to shopping each day at a market or bakery or carneceria (butcher shop) for what she needs; stocking up is not traditional. Unacculturated Hispanics want fresh produce and meats, clean stores, friendly employees and highly prize bilingual signage, packaging and employees.
"If you don't have these products," said Medina, "you become strictly an emergency-only store."
Morse suggested six best practices for retailers:
Research the culture in order to better think like themtravel to Mexico (64% of U.S. Hispanics are Mexican) or Puerto Rico or Central America, search the Internet, visit bodegas. Define the ethnic merchandise look and organize to execute it. Tailor your offering to the target group, and don't price their staple foods as exotic, price them as staples. Know your market's culture, and be aware and a part of community events. Recruit staff to reflect the community. Be a Hispanic destination all year, not simply for holidays (Cinco de Mayo is not celebrated in Mexico).Members help make our journalism possible. Become a CSP member today and unlock exclusive benefits, including unlimited access to all of our content. Sign up here.