Earlier this year, NPD’s Chief Retail Analyst, Marshal Cohen, joined us to discuss the Hispanic retail opportunity in our Rocking Holiday Shopping with U.S. Hispanics—New Research from NPD and UCI webinar. Cohen is in stores every week hearing directly from consumers, a reason why he’s considered THE source for shopper insights to some of the biggest players in retail. With the onset of holiday shopping under way, we thought it was a good time to revisit some of his key takeaways on the Hispanic shopper because as Cohen aptly put, “Holiday is a great opportunity to build your business, not only for the holiday season, but for 2016 as well.”
Make them Feel at Home
One of the insights from our proprietary study with NPD revealed that Spanish-dominant and bilingual Hispanics spend more per buying visit. Give the high potential Hispanic shopper reason to come back into your store, and you can drive dollars beyond the holidays. To ensure that this consumer comes back, retailers have to make sure this segment knows your store cares about them and speaks their language—and this doesn’t just mean Spanish. Retailers must tap this consumer’s mindset to design a retail experience that fits their needs (e.g. shopping as a family unit).
Aid Conversion with Mobile Experiences
Hispanics love shopping. The tactical experience – seeing, touching, testing – are important factors when making purchase decisions. They enjoy taking the time to shop and they prepare well for it—Cohen calls this “pre-search.” Hispanics use their mobile devices to learn as much as possible about the product, before and during their store visit. Don’t be surprised to see this become a common trend, as Cohen states, “[the] rest of the consumers are catching up to the Hispanic mindset.”
Know their Holiday Events
The holiday shopping season starts earlier and earlier each year, retailers might be led to believe that the shopping opportunity falls in the early days of Black Friday to Christmas. But past the holiday rush comes the post-holiday wave. This is a very important time with the Hispanic consumer who’s returning to stores to prepare for the rest of their important festivities, including the ever-important Three Kings Day (January 6). “Holiday is a great time to introduce yourself to the consumer who may come back and shop again and again. Hispanic consumers tend to be more loyal than the total market, take advantage of it.”
