Hispanic market in the United States: Myths and Facts

The Hispanic market in the United States is one of the fastest growing markets in North America. The Hispanic and Latino population is growing at an unprecedented pace and bringing untapped business opportunities along with it. Many U.S. companies are already targeting the Spanish-speaking consumer with great success. Some businesses are utilizing bilingual flyers and brochures to get the word out about their products and services, a few have opened Spanish-speaking stores, and others are focusing direct advertising efforts via television, radio, and written media on the Hispanic community. Businesses that want to carve out a market niche have a rare opportunity to be front-line runners in a market that is growing all around them.

One of the best methods of targeting the bilingual or Spanish-speaking consumer is the use of a bilingual website. The Internet will carry the product line or service of a progressive business into the homes of millions of Hispanics that might not otherwise ever be exposed to them. But it's only the businesses that want to take advantage of the growing Hispanic market that will be able to do so.

Understanding Hispanic Consumers

Some businesses make oversimplified and erroneous assumptions about Hispanic consumers. A prevalent myth is that the Hispanic market in the United States is comprised solely of illiterate and financially destitute Mexican nationals from the rural regions of Mexico. This is certainly the case but only to a small degree. The truth of the matter is that Hispanics are working as naturalized citizens the world of business, medical practices, police work, and a host of other well-paying professions and careers.

Another common myth is that Hispanics are unwilling to buy much of anything, preferring instead to keep to themselves to avoid the Border Patrol. Most Hispanics don’t have to worry about law enforcement in the first place and lead much fuller lives than this misconceived notion anyway. Hispanic citizens are alive and well in every facet of U.S. culture and many are looking for places to spend their money.

A third myth is that Hispanics are not capable Internet users. That is far from the truth. The Hispanic market in the United States is discovering the Internet and has become very comfortable with online shopping and advertising. As the Hispanic community has embraced the world of the Web, pocketbooks have likewise opened and a significant amount of money is being spent for online products.

Businesses in the United States that are unwilling or unable to adjust to the demographic changes that are occurring will be left out in the cold. Bilingual websites are generating a lot of traffic and increasing sales of products of every description. It is true that most Hispanics, especially those for whom Spanish is their native tongue, prefer to shop on Spanish-speaking websites. It’s also true that a Spanish website that has been professionally translated with the correct keywords and optimized for the search engines will receive a lot of hits from Spanish-speaking consumers. The expense is minimal and the potential profit margin is high.

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Retro-Acculturation’s Impact on Hispanic Marketing

In an important blog post about retro-acculturation it is said that “Truly Spanish dominant consumers will think in Spanish as opposed to English.” This is especially true in marketing and will not change as long as Spanish language use in the United States is able to continue growing. Marketers should take note of this phenomenon among Hispanics in the US, as this will be a very important target group when making marketing decisions. Spanish is the second largest language spoken in the US, and does not show any decline, especially when more and more Hispanics find it suitable to teach their children Spanish at an early age.

There are no tricks to marketing towards Hispanics, so the only reliable method of getting your message across about products or services is by connecting with them past language barriers. Taking the time to accurately have your marketing materials presented in a way that Hispanics can have access and understanding, allows them to take part in your marketing efforts. Many companies will be left behind on this venture when they do not take the retro-acculturation process seriously and do not make the effort to present marketing materials in Spanish.

For more information on the retro-acculturation process, please contact us here

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Sebastian Aroca