Funded by The Beef Checkoff
The Hispanic
Supermarket
Consumer
The Hispanic
Supermarket
Consumer
April 2008 April 2008Latinos are the main source of growth for
the grocery industry
• Latino households spend 46% more than the general population on
groceries
– $133 per week vs. $91 per week, respectively
• Hispanics go to grocery stores a whopping 26 times a month
– Triple the average of the general population
3
Hispanics want low prices and
responsive grocery stores
• 95% find low prices important • Hispanics are willing to spend
more time visiting stores to look for quality food
• Hispanics value a clean store, courteous employees and high-quality fruits and vegetables
• Hispanics want grocery stores to recognize and respond to their cultural differences and needs
Hispanics use multiple store types
every month
• 94% of Hispanics shop supermarkets • 68% shop discount superstores
• 56% shop carnicerías (meat markets)
• At least half of Hispanics visit bodegas (corner stores) and panaderías (bakeries)
5
Acculturation level sharply influences
store visitation/choices
• Acculturated Hispanic shoppers value convenience and efficiency • Unacculturated Hispanic shoppers
go to ethnic stores with Hispanic foods and products five times more often than acculturated Latinos
Unacculturated Hispanics visit ethnic
stores more often
• Unacculturated Hispanics visit bodegas (62%), carnicerías (58%) and panaderías (54%) more frequently than
acculturated Hispanics
• Unacculturated Hispanics spend more on groceries
7
Income drives store choice
• Hispanics with higher incomes
($50,000+) are more likely to shop at warehouse club stores
• Latinos with lower incomes tend to shop more at bodegas (60%) and carnicerías (41%)
Creating an appealing store
environment is essential
• Hispanic elements are meaningful to Latino shoppers, especially among the less acculturated
• For many Latinos, creating a sense of kinship or connection to the store is critical
“Retailers can establish such an environment by cultivating a bilingual, culturally mindful staff, incorporating Hispanic
elements and adopting a community oriented focus” - Food Marketing Institute
9
Community involvement is key
• Consider community involvement of the retailer to be important when choosing where to shop
– Almost 75% of acculturated Hispanics
– 91% of unacculturated Hispanics
• “Store active in local community” is very or somewhat important – 84% of all Hispanics
– 88% of unacculturated Hispanics
Importance of store activities
to Hispanics
• Percent rating these elements “Somewhat” or “Very Important”
Carries imported products from
66% 88%
84% Store active in local community
55% 91% 82% Bilingual Packaging 62% 92% 84% Bilingual Store Signs
80% 94%
91% Sells Hispanic Products
68% 96% 88% Bilingual Employees Acculturated Hispanics Unacculturated Hispanics All Hispanics Hispanic Elements
11
Hispanic shopping habits show high
price sensitivity
• Hispanics shop with saving money in mind
– Price and convenience are top reasons for choosing their primary store
• Unacculturated Hispanics take grocery shopping very seriously
– Check flyers, prepare shopping lists, set budgets and avoid impulse purchases for grocery trips
• Age and family size determine the amount spent on groceries • Most Hispanics do their grocery shopping on weekends
– Saturday is the most popular shopping day for almost 40%
The “fill-in” trip is the favorite
shopping trip of the Hispanic shopper
• 37% of Hispanic shopping trips are fill-in vs. 25% for the general population
• Hispanic shoppers fill in more often but spend less on each trip than general market shoppers ($32 vs. $49)
• Hispanic fill-in trips are likely to be for items used by the next day • Children’s needs drive many of
13
Latinos want one-stop shopping
• The primary stock-up shopper
selects a store that meets a variety of household needs
• This shopper takes stock-up trips more frequently than general market shoppers (16% vs. 13%)
Hispanics rarely buy ready-to-eat
supermarket meals
• Only 14% of Hispanic
shoppers purchase ready-to-eat take out foods from a supermarket every time or fairly often
• Acculturated Hispanics purchase ready-to-eat foods almost twice as often
15
Advertising awareness influences
Hispanics for grocery store selection
• Direct mail circulars and TV generate the highest recall among Hispanic consumers
• 74% of Hispanics indicate that supermarket advertising influences where they shop
• 69% of carnicería shoppers are influenced by advertising • Advertising awareness for
supermarkets is higher among acculturated Hispanic shoppers than unacculturated (77% vs. 64%)
Online 16 hrs/wk* Index 114 Radio 25 hrs/wk Index 112 Television 31 hrs/wk Index 142 Magazines 2 hrs/wk Index 90 Newspapers 5 hrs/wk Index 85
Hispanics over-index in TV and radio
consumption vs. general market
17
Language plays critical role in
reaching unacculturated Hispanics
• Two-thirds of unacculturated Hispanics speak and read very little or no English
• 82% of acculturated Hispanics speak Spanish well or very well, with 40% of them speaking Spanish at home more than half the time
• Less acculturated Hispanics have higher recall rates for supermarket ads in Spanish (32% vs. 22%)
• Only 23% of unacculturated Latinos use English-language media
Coupon redemption among Hispanics
is low
• About 25% of Latinos use coupons
• 56% of Hispanic consumers report they rarely or never use coupons
• Acculturated Hispanics use coupons more often than unacculturated
Hispanics
• Spanish-dominant Latinos may not use coupons printed only in English
Funded by The Beef Checkoff
