Last month, we partnered with Media Predict to share the latest U.S. Hispanic eCommerce findings in our Engaging the Powerhouse U.S. Hispanic Online Shopper webinar. Here we recap U.S. Hispanics’ online path to purchase and how to best connect and engage them.
State of the e-Commerce State
U.S. Hispanics are the ultimate omnichannel shopper; both their offline and online buying visits are growing significantly more than those of non-Hispanics. While most spending happens offline, Hispanics allot a greater percentage of their spending dollars to online shopping than do non-Hispanics. Currently, 15% of Hispanics’ buying visits are online, compared to 13% for non-Hispanics, and they outspend non-Hispanics with retail dollars online. Hispanics are also more likely than non-Hispanics to have made a recent online purchase across numerous categories, including apparel, footwear, electronics, fragrance, and home décor, to name a few. As frequent online shoppers, it makes sense that Hispanics are more likely than non-Hispanics to try subscription or bundle services, particularly for apparel, beauty, and children’s products. Despite their eagerness to try subscription boxes, Hispanics have lower awareness of these kinds of services than non-Hispanics do.
Online Research, Reviews & Recommendations
When Hispanics shop online, they also make sure to research online; they are on par with non-Hispanics in doing online research and turning to websites for information, but they over-index on social media as a source for product information (15% vs. 9%). Hispanics also tend to rely more on product ratings and customer reviews than non-Hispanics, but their clear favorite is retailer recommendations. More than half of Hispanic online shoppers rely on retailer recommendations vs. one-third of non-Hispanics. If marketers want to engage Hispanics at this point of the consumer journey, they should make sure their reviews, ratings, and recommendations are front and center.
Creating Hispanic Advocates Through Personalized Experiences
When it comes to writing reviews or rating products, we found Hispanics tend to pay it forward. They rely on reviews and recommendations during the research stage of their purchase journey and, in the post-purchase stage, seven in 10 Hispanic online shoppers report writing reviews vs six in 10 non-Hispanics. Part of why Hispanics may be inclined to leave reviews of products has to do with their approach to online shopping. Hispanics view shopping as a shared experience, not just a simple transaction. This shared experience translates into the online realm and comes to life with Hispanics ordering online for friends and family, sharing their online accounts, making or asking for referrals, and inviting friends over to shop with them.
Hispanics will look for personalized and innovative shopping experiences; almost half of Hispanic online shoppers want personalized loyalty offerings vs. 34% for non-Hispanics. Hispanics are also loyal repeat customers, often looking for easy ways to reorder from their previous shopping histories. It makes sense that Hispanics are looking for the latest tech innovations when it comes to online shopping since they over-index in tech-device usage. They are 65% more likely to want VR experiences that let them try on clothes in a mirror, see a product in their home, or to get location-based recommendations.
What Is the Best Way to Engage and Connect with Hispanics?
Most of Hispanic adults (81%) speak Spanish and more than half of them feel that their native language is among the most important aspects of the culture to preserve. For marketers, using Spanish can be a key way to reach this group. Retail ads in Spanish airing in Spanish-language broadcasts have a likability rating two times higher than the same commercials in English on English-language broadcasts.
So, what does this mean for marketers? In order to win with Hispanics, it’s essential to understand the values that unite Hispanics as a community. For instance, Kantar Futures found that 73% of Hispanics believe there should be more commercials directed specifically to them. This requires marketers to gain a deeper understanding of Hispanic passion points — like the importance of family and education, a love of food and music, and a social nature. Brands that make sincere efforts in reaching out to Hispanics are rewarded with loyal customers.
Source: Univision/Media Predict study “Engaging the Powerhouse U.S. Hispanic Online Shopper” June 2018
