Marketing to US Hispanics Equals Increased Sales
By Kimberly Berls, VP of Business Development for Spanish Matters

The buying power of the US Hispanic population is growing faster than any other segment of the US population. Every day more and more business owners search for strategies to tap into this tremendous market.

There are 45 million Latinos in the United States, with more than $860 billion in annual buying power, according to 2007 statistics. Most large American companies, such as Office Depot and Ford Motor Company, have jumped on the bandwagon of targeting the lucrative Latino market, and your business should too.

The statistics speak for themselves:

• The average US Latino household consists of 3.6 people as opposed to 2.5 people of the average US household.

Hispanics consume more of everything, from groceries to clothing to electricity. Statistics show that US Hispanics spend more on baby goods, home improvement, and food than non-Hispanics.

• The Hispanic population is very young, making Hispanics a prime source of growth in many industries.

63% of Hispanics in the US are between the ages of 18 to 41, compared to 36% of whites. Services targeting younger sectors of the population consequently have a larger, growing percentage of Latino customers. For example, Hispanics represent 15% of all movie ticket sales. Young Latinos will determine success or failure of many youth-oriented products and services (Selig Center for Economic Growth).

• Hispanics are the fastest-growing group of online buyers.

More than half of Hispanics are online, and their online buying power is on the rise. The number of Latinos online increased 15% in 2007. Despite these statistics, less than 1% of web content in the US is in Spanish. Many large US companies already have a Spanish translation of their website, a trend likely to grow for years to come.

• Roughly 50% of Hispanics are home-owners.

Hispanics already spend 30% more than the national average on hardware, tools, and building materials in spite of having lower home ownership rates than whites. The US Census Bureau estimates that number to increase steadily in the future.

Is your business reaching out to Hispanic consumers? Translating your business’s marketing and web materials into Spanish is the first step in accumulating a broad, loyal, Hispanic consumer base. Visit http://www.spanishmatters.com/quote/ for a free estimate for high-quality, affordable English to Spanish translation for your business or nonprofit organization.

Kimberly Berls is VP of Business Development for Spanish Matters, a translation firm specializing in translation specifically for the US Spanish-speaking market. Visit www.spanishmatters.com for more information on professional English to Spanish translation for your business or nonprofit organization.