Last month, we shared findings from our Hispanic Healthcare Journey study in our first two webinars the OTC Path to Purchase and the Rx Path to Treatment.
For our final webinar we wanted to highlight the significant revenue potential Hispanics represent for retailers, due to their larger households, more frequent buying trips and greater spending per trip. Together with Felisha Lewis, VP of Healthcare Custom Insights at Nielsen, we shared five key considerations for leveraging the Hispanic Retail Opportunity.
Proactive Healthcare Consumers
The study found that Hispanics proactively look for healthcare information: 64% actively seek healthcare information vs. 58% of non-Hispanics. Hispanics are also more likely to collect information before making OTC purchase decisions (22% vs. 16% of non-Hispanics). In addition to information seeking, Hispanics are also proactive in their purchase behavior with 52% buying OTC products to stock-up for future use, compared to 38% of non-Hispanics. This holds true across key categories, even for seasonal products such as cough/cold and allergy remedies.
Rely on Media and Open to Messaging
Hispanics rely on a variety of sources for their healthcare information including healthcare professionals, family, friends, and especially, TV and digital. In fact, 36% of Hispanics rely on TV advertisements vs. 19% of non-Hispanics. Hispanics are more likely than non-Hispanics to find OTC and prescription medication ads informative, and the best part? They actually act on ad messaging: Hispanics are more likely to purchase an OTC product because of advertising and ask their doctor for a prescription medication they have seen or heard advertised.
Spanish is Key
Spanish-language information and outreach resonates with Hispanics. Ads in Spanish capture their attention and create a favorable brand opinion. Even more importantly, Hispanics find ads for OTC products and prescription medications easier to understand when they are in Spanish. The study findings were reinforced by Nielsen Brand Effect, which showed that prescription and OTC television ads on Spanish-language broadcast outperformed those on English-language broadcast in ad, brand, and message memorability, as well as ad likeability.
More Engaged in the Shopping Experience
Looking at purchase behaviors overall, Hispanics enjoy the shopping experience more than non-Hispanics. This means that they shop more aisles and make more frequent trips, which leads to more visits to your stores. While shopping, Hispanics engage with in-store experiences including noticing advertising in the aisle, choosing from a special display and being helped by a store associate. Hispanics also look for cultural cues in store, such as bilingual signage and having a Spanish speaking staff. Almost two-thirds of Hispanics appreciate it when stores have a Spanish-speaking pharmacist.
Trust the Pharmacist
Hispanics are more likely to rely on pharmacists and act on their recommendations. When shopping for OTC products, nearly half of Hispanics regularly ask pharmacists for advice (45% vs. 31% of non-Hispanics). For information on prescription medications, 62% of Hispanics rely on pharmacists compared to 48% of non-Hispanics. There is an opportunity to leverage Hispanics’ relationship with the pharmacist to build stronger relationships and increase store and brand loyalty.
