CPG Industry Eyes Ways to Capture Hispanic Consumers

CHICAGO -- The CPG industry is getting help from SymphonyIRI Group Inc. and Synovate to find a better way to market to and reach Hispanic consumers. The two companies have teamed to create HispanicLink, a report that aims to provide a representative view of Hispanic shoppers.

Currently, Hispanic consumers make up more than 15 percent of the population and they carry a spending power of $950 billion -- a figure that is expected to increase to $1.2 trillion by 2012. The new report will offer analysis of Hispanic's shopping habits, cooking, eating and drinking behaviors, health and wellness practices, and their media preferences.

"CPG retailers and manufacturers need to have a better understanding of Hispanic consumers to effectively focus their marketing efforts and win at the shelf," said Robert I. Tomei, president, Consumer & Shopper Marketing, SymphonyIRI. "This is no easy task when considering the complexity of the Hispanic population, so the HispanicLink report breaks down this multifaceted group in terms of acculturation, language preference and attitudes, and examines their shopping patterns and motivations. Retailers and manufacturers no longer have to take a one-size-fits-all approach with Hispanic consumers and can leverage these insights to develop targeted marketing programs."

The report examines business issues, such as how to pinpoint key purchase influencers, and can help allocate market spending across different avenues, such as in-store promotions and coupons. HispanicLink also includes a survey and shopping basket analysis component.

"With HispanicLink, CPG companies can better understand how to allocate their marketing budgets when trying to reach Hispanic consumers," said Mark Berry, executive vice president of Synovate's North American Consumer and Retail Business Units. He also co-leads the Global Shopper Insights Group. "The report takes an in-depth look into the Hispanic population to reveal spending habits, shopping trip behavior and the impact the economy has had on the price/value equation for this valuable target group."