“If it were a standalone country, the U.S. Hispanic market buying power would make it one of the top twenty economies in the world.”
- Nielsen’s State of the Hispanic Consumer, April 2012
There have been countless reports over the years on the spending power of Latinos, but this new report from Nielsen illustrates it in vividly stark terms.
The report gets at not only the formidable economic clout of the United States’ 50 million-plus Latinos, expected to reach $1.5 trillion by 2015, but at how the growing Latino population is leading the nation toward ethnic plurality, defined as “the coexistence of numerous ethnicities and races with no one segment in the majority.”
The report reads: “Latinos are no longer just a sub-segment of the economy, but a prominent player in all aspects of American life.” Some highlights from the executive summary:
It has become increasingly important to challenge commonly held misconceptions about the Latino market that undermine the importance of its size, uniqueness, and value…
• Latinos are a fundamental component to business success, and not a passing niche on the sidelines.
• Rapid Latino population growth will persist, even if immigration is completely halted.
• Latinos have amassed significant buying power, despite perceptions to the contrary.
• Hispanics are the largest immigrant group to exhibit significant culture sustainability and are not disappearing into the American melting pot.
• Technology and media use do not mirror the general market but have distinct patterns due to language, culture, and ownership dynamics.
• Latinos exhibit distinct product consumption patterns and are not buying in ways that are the same as the total market.
The complete report can be downloaded here.
