We’ve long known that Hispanics enjoy shopping; they shop the front of the store, the back of the store, and every aisle in between. They are highly engaged, extremely brand loyal, but still search for innovation and new products to try.
We conducted a study in partnership with Acosta to better understand Hispanic shopping behaviors throughout the course of 2020. The results really showcased the importance of targeting this powerful consumer segment. Let’s dive right into the key takeaways and don’t forget to download our Why Behind the Buy infographic in the blue bar below.
Hispanics delivered outsized CPG growth in 2020, even during a pandemic.
It’s no secret that as a cohort, Hispanics were more greatly impacted by COVID-19 than the total population. Yet in the midst of it all, they continued to drive sales growth across key CPG categories and outspend non-Hispanics in food and grocery sales.
According to Nielsen Target Track, Hispanics added an outstanding $14.5 billion to CPG sales in 2020 and grew sales 1.4x faster than non-Hispanics across every category, including grocery, beauty, baby, and health. In fact, they fueled 100% of the sales growth for some of the beauty, baby, health, and grocery categories.
Hispanics continued to have a significant impact on category sales growth, driven by stocking up on frozen and household items, making more meals at home and continuing to buy for larger households. We also saw that for the first time, Hispanics were the ones driving sales growth in the frozen food department, driving +27% of sales growth in 2020 (vs. +20% for NH).
As a result, Hispanics are outspending the general market on food per month, with an average monthly spend of $298 vs. $265. Multiply that significant difference times 12 months, and you’re looking at a real prime prospect for advertisers.
Hispanics continue to enjoy grocery shopping, online and offline.
Hispanics really enjoy going to the grocery store and the added engagement that comes along with shopping in the store (62% H vs. 59% NH). In fact, they over-index on digital tools usage to further enhance their shopping experience, whether at home or while in the store. 32% of Hispanics are actively checking store apps (vs. 29% NH) and 32% are making digital shopping lists (vs. 27% NH).
Drivers for this enjoyment changed in 2020. Before the pandemic, Hispanics enjoyed grocery shopping because it was a social experience, it meant family time. Today, Hispanics enjoy grocery shopping because it means a reason to get out of the house, (26% H vs 24% NH) and, more importantly, because it makes them feel they are doing something good for their families (19% H vs 16% NH). We believe the social experience will regain its previous importance in the near future.
A significant portion of Hispanics’ shopping spend did shift online during the pandemic, along with everybody else. We found that Hispanics are now shopping online for groceries at the same pace than non-Hispanics (42% H vs. 40% NH). Additionally, over two-thirds of Hispanics are Amazon Prime members, making it their preferred online retailer (69% H vs 65% NH). Hispanics are also shopping at some of their favorite retailers, like Walmart, Target, Kroger, Instacart and many others, for in-home delivery and curbside pickup.
Your growth opportunity awaits.
Marketers are trying to predict what post-pandemic life looks like and what types of consumer behaviors will fade, and which ones will remain. However, when it comes to Hispanic shoppers, we learned nearly two-thirds will continue to place the same amount, or even more grocery orders post pandemic. Furthermore, Hispanics continue to buy more groceries than non-Hispanics (48% vs. 41%), spend more per trip, and shop online and in-store in the future.
Hispanics have always been super shoppers, however this confirms that they are more than that— they are truly super shoppers plus! Don’t miss out on the opportunity to engage them for growth.
Whether your brand is a grocery retailer or a product, Univision Brand Labs can help you better understand the business opportunity and provide turn-key solutions regardless of where you stand in your Hispanic engagement journey.
