95/18/06 Hispanic Shopping Habits

The Hispanic community in the US has been a top news story and I believe that the masses marching have helped magnified awareness of marketing opportunities. There is much to learn. A behavioral study on Hispanic shopping habits recently completed by the Unilever Corporation has revealed that the Hispanic shopper, typically a woman, is less satisfied with their food shopping experience than general market consumers. Food plays an important cultural and emotional role in the Hispanic community, thus shopping is more of an event, prepared for and planned. Unlike my mad dash to the store for one item, the Hispanic shopper plans 56 percent of her supermarket trips, with only 2 percent considered urgent compared to the general market consumers' 19 %. Hispanic woman are also more savvy when it comes to knowing products and values. 48 percent of Hispanic shoppers are aware of in store "specials". Courting the Hispanic consumer will require adaptation by retailers, but be assured the