Univision Study Offers Food Marketers Advice About Shopping Habits of Hispanic Consumers

By John Consoli -- Broadcasting & Cable, 7/31/2012 2:40:27 PM

A Univision study conducted by SmartRevenue has found that Hispanic consumers are significantly more influenced by TV ads than non-Hispanic consumers, at least in terms of their food product purchases.

The study, which consisted of interviews of 1,018 Hispanic and non-Hispanic adults and involved five major food retailers across 11 major markets, found that when it comes to purchasing snack items, 16% of Hispanics said they are influenced by TV ads, compared to only 5% of non-Hispanic consumers. The study also questioned the consumers about their frozen food purchases, with 19% of Hispanics saying they are influenced by TV commercials, compared to 6% of non-Hispanics.

In the snacks category, 26% of Hispanics said they are influenced to make specific purchases by in-store circulars; 26% also said they are influenced by manufacturers' coupons. In the frozen food category, 28% of Hispanics said they are influenced by in-store circulars, while only 15% of non-Hispanics said store circulars motivated them to make specific buys.

"Understanding how and why Hispanics make their purchase decisions is crucial data when developing a proper roadmap that links pre-store and in-store influencers," says Elizabeth Ellers, executive VP, corporate research for Univision Communications. She says "Path to Purchase" studies like this one will help brands gain a better understanding of their Hispanic consumers and, in turn, "it may result in a shift from a one-size-fits-all approach to a more shopper-centric marketing strategy."

Consumers who participated in the study were from San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, Dallas, Miami, San Diego, Phoenix, Houston, Denver and San Antonio.

Among other statistics, the study also found that Hispanics were more inclined than non-Hispanics to buy frozen foods to complement the meals they cook at home, rather than buying frozen foods as a complete meal; 46% of Hispanics surveyed use frozen foods as an entire meal compared to 59% of non-Hispanics.

Hispanics also make more frequent food shopping trips each week than non-Hispanics -- 53% of Hispanics shop for food at least once per week, compared to 39% of non-Hispanics.

Food shopping is also more of a family event among Hispanics. The study found 39% of Hispanics shop for food together as a family, compared to only 18% of non-Hispanics. And 49% of Hispanics go food shopping alone, compared to 75% of non-Hispanics.

Hispanic consumers are also more impulsive shoppers in food stores by a slight margin. For Hispanic shoppers, 32% make impulse snack buys while walking down the aisles, compared to 25% of non-Hispanics.

And 66% of Hispanics cite knowing others will like a snack product as a factor in purchasing it, compared to 58% of non-Hispanics. The difference is greater with frozen foods, as 59% of Hispanics make a frozen food purchase knowing others will like it, compared to 36% of non-Hispanics.

Some advice for frozen food brands: When marketing to Hispanics, don't just stress the preparation time it saves, explain how it reflects the traditional values of a meal prepared from scratch. This and other conclusions were made when the results of the study were released and discussed at a recent Univision-sponsored webinar titled, "Hispanic 411: Insights to Grow Your Business."