Latinas are the New Mainstream Consumer, Driving Triple-Digital Sales Growth

Latinas are a fastgrowing population of key buyers and influencers and are civically engaged and driving media consumption amp8212 all while facing challenges such as a wage gap and lack of representation in mediaquotThe reality isquot Gil asserts quotLatinas are the new mainstream consumers and entrepreneurs they39re poised to grow brands39 businessesquotGil39s assertions are back by the report quotLatinas Powering Forwardquot created jointly by NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises and Comcast NBCUniversal The study examines key attributes of Latinas living in the US including their academic advancements buying power civic engagement and population and workforce growthTwo of the findings that marketers should pay close attention to Gil advises are the population boom and Latinas39 buying power quotAbout 65 percent of the 29 million Latinas in the US are under 40 years oldquot she says pointing out that they39re within the coveted 18amp821149 demographic quotThey39re in a series of firsts first time buying a home for example And they39re equipped to buy products from energy drinks to cars Latinas are important to any advertiser trying to growquotThis is despite the significant wage gap Latinas face The report found that Latinas earn 54 cents for every 1 a white man earns quotI knew there was a gapquot Gil says quotbut I didn39t realize the size of that gapquotEven so Latinas are an quoteconomic powerhousequot Gil says They have an outsized impact on household consumption which translates into a considerable influence on Hispanic39s fastgrowing buying power amp8212 projected to reach 19 trillion in 2023 according to the report Latinas have helped to propel 247 percent growth from 2014 to 2018 across several categories including automobiles beauty investment products and mobile devices quotLatinas are breaking myths that they aren39t making major purchasesquot Gil saysLatinas also have a considerable impact on mainstream culture and trends The report calls out actress and singer Selena Gomez the fifthmost followed person on Instagram with 159 million followers actress dancer producer and singer Jennifer Lopez the new face of accessory brand Coach and actress Sofamp237a Vergara the secondhighestpaid woman in Hollywood as examples of trendsetting Latinas who are powerful mainstream cultural ampgtinfluencers This is yet another reason that quotbrands need to think of Latinas as the new mainstreamquot Gil emphasizesBrands should also gain a better understanding of today39s Latinas Gil advises One important attribute to understand is quotCultural Bothnessquot Latinas are 100 percent Latin and 100 percent American quotThey live in both worlds seamlesslyquot Gil explains quotToday39s Latinas for example want their kids to speak Spanish and want to celebrate their heritagequotIn fact language is essential to brands trying to engage Latinas quotEnglish may capture their attention but Spanish will capture their emotionquot Gil adds quotYou can39t have one without the otherquotFor this reason a brand39s advertising and content must be culturally relevant and where appropriate highlight the brand39s social purpose quotThis need to for cultural relevance is nothing new but some brands still don39t do itquot Gil says quotDon39t assume behaviors are the same as they were in the past Use insights to inform the conversationquotAnd remember that today quotpurchases aren39t just transactionsquot Gil adds quotThey39re about value what does the brand do for them It could be a political statement to buy a specific brand for examplequot Research has shown that most consumers including Latinas want to purchase brands that believe in social responsibility she points out quotAbout half will purchase a brand that supports a social causequot Gil says quotBrand purpose is the future of growthquotOne key point of cultural relevance that brands should keep in mind soccer quotThere39s no bigger expression of Hispanic identity than soccer It39s like a religion and the World Cup is the cathedralquot Gil asserts quotTo me it39s innately who we are as a culture It brings unity between age and gender and language it39s a cultural connector amp8212 we watch soccer in groupsquotThose groups include highly engaged Latinas quotYou39re seeing young Latinas go into sports more than ever beforequot Gil says adding that Telemundo has several notable female sportscasters quotAnd Latinas are playing rather than just watchingquotLatinas are also more and more civically engaged so 2020 is a critical time to connect with them as voters according to the report Gil notes that quotHispanics will be the largest racial group eligible to vote in 2020 and candidates should be aware that many are firsttime votersquot She adds that many don39t have a party affiliation yet and are likely to vote based on the candidate not the party quotHispanics will go to the polls across the United Statesquot Gil says This is due in part to Telemundo and many other organizations encouraging and supporting Hispanics39 civic engagement quotWe don39t direct them how to votequot she says quotWe just want them to votequotWhether a brand or a candidate connecting with Latinas requires both understanding and supporting them Gil recommends for example hiring them now as an investment in this growing labor force quotHire them invest in them train themquot she says quotMake sure they39re in roles that help make decisions not just hear decisions once they39re madequotGil also emphasizes that brands should invest in understanding Latinas quotThey aren39t that difficult to understandquot she says quotThey39re modern and are breaking stereotypes They have disposable incomes They are the new soccer moms If you39re betting on growth bet on LatinasquotClick the social buttons to share this story with your friends and colleaguesThe opinions and points of view expressed in this content are exclusively the views of the author andor subjects and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillagecomMyersBizNet Inc management or associated writers

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Latinas are the New Mainstream Consumer, Driving Triple-Digital Sales Growth

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Ginger Conlon

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Latinas are the New Mainstream Consumer, Driving Triple-Digital Sales Growth

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Ginger Conlon

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