Hispanic Millennials Love Digital Shopping

There’s been a lot of talk about brands, specifically CPG brands, targeting online Hispanics, and for good reason. A 2015 Google study aimed to find out how much more engaged Hispanics are with digital marketing versus their non-Hispanic counterparts, and the findings were illuminating.

The study’s results suggest that Hispanic millennials in particular are not only digitally savvy, they pay attention to digital advertising more than other cultural groups, representing a huge growth opportunity for digital marketers.

Diving deeper, a recent Acosta/Univision report titled “The Why Behind the Buy” suggests that Hispanic millennials, those aged 18-34, exhibit these trends even more. Here are some key insights about the online marketing interactions of Hispanic millennials, as highlighted by the report:

Hispanic Millennials Research Online Before Buying

One of the primary findings shows that the Hispanic millennial population is more likely to research an item, and then buy it either in the store or online than both the general U.S. population and the total U.S. Hispanic population.

Hispanics are inherently social, which transfers to shopping as well; use of social channels for grocery shopping is higher among Hispanics than the general population:

• 53% Facebook (vs. 30% Total U.S.)
• 25% Instagram (vs. 8% Total U.S.)
• 21% Pinterest (vs. 17% Total U.S.)
• 21% Twitter (vs. 10% Total U.S.)
• 18% Group Buying Sites (vs. 10% Total U.S.)

If the product discovery portion of the shopping process is occurring online for Hispanic millennials, marketers should use digital channels to advertise products, introduce new innovations and build brand awareness.

Convenience is Key for Young Hispanic Shoppers

Why do Hispanic millennials gravitate towards online for shopping?  According to the Acosta/ Univision study, Hispanic millennials opt for the most convenient food purchase option, even more so than any other Hispanic generation.

In fact, Hispanic millennial shoppers are much more likely to purchase convenience grocery prepared foods, order food from a restaurant and pick it up, order groceries online or order a meal/ingredient kit for online delivery.  Hispanic millennial focus on convenience signals a great opportunity in the digital grocery market.

Hispanic Millennials Will Drive Growth in Digital Grocery Market

While U.S. Hispanic millennials are already using the Internet heavily to research and buy groceries, the study suggests that there is still room to grow.

69% of U.S. Hispanics responded that they would consider using online grocery shopping sources if they were more available, while 7 out of 10 Hispanic respondents said they were either unsure of their available online options or they felt that these options were lacking for grocery shopping.

Hispanic Millennials are Open to Digital Marketing

In another telling discovery, the report found that Hispanic millennials were less interested in physical advertising mailers in favor of a more diverse array of online alternatives: email advertising, online shopper loyalty programs, and other forms of digital advertising. Consumer preferences and major digital disruption in other industries make this the prime moment for well-established CPG companies to embrace e-commerce.

The Hispanic shopper, especially U.S. millennial Hispanics love digital shopping.  This group is open to digital marketing tactics, prefers convenience and is more likely to research products online to drive purchase.  Smart manufactures and retailers will invest in targeting Hispanic millennials via digital tactics.