Hispanics Spend $22.8 Billion In the Independent Retail Grocery Channel [STUDY]

The National Grocers Association (NGA) and the Center for Multicultural Science (CMS) recently conducted the first study to estimate how much the Hispanic shopper spends in the independent retail grocery channel.  

The study found that Hispanics spend an estimated $22.8 billion in retail grocery stores (or 17% of the total estimated annual sales of the independent retail grocery channel).

Key Findings

• The top 7 Hispanic states (CA, TX, NY, AZ, FL, IL and NJ) contributed an estimated $16.7 billion in sales, accounting for approximately 73% of the total national annual Hispanic purchases in the independent retail grocery stores.
• These 7 states account for 36 million Hispanics, or 70% of the total Hispanic population in the United States.
• In the Top 4 Hispanic cities-Los Angeles, Dallas, Houston and New York, 82% of the total annual Hispanic purchases were made in high-density Hispanic neighborhoods (where 35%+ was Hispanic).

In addition, this study was significant for a couple of reasons:

• The independent retail grocery channel is fragmented and difficult to measure. Currently, syndicated retail sales data undercounts an estimated 20 to 60 percent of purchases made by Hispanic shoppers, depending on the category.
• As a result, syndicated purchasing data for the Hispanic and other multicultural shoppers is often inaccurate, posing major challenges for marketers and corporations to estimate how much multicultural shoppers spend and drive ROI.

The study also provides insights that show how retailers and suppliers can leverage the full economic potential of the Hispanic population for growth.

Many retailers understand that the Hispanic population is 53 million strong and has grown 43% from 2000-2010, but few know exactly what to do to capitalize on the growth opportunities with the Hispanic consumer. 

Project Director and In-Culture Marketing pioneer, Isabel Valdés explains, “The Center for Multicultural Science Retail Study used an In-Culture™ methodology, which not only helped size the multicultural sales opportunity in the marketplace, but also uncover key shopper insights and purchasing patterns that provide retailers and manufacturers with concrete, practical direction.”

“The Center for Multicultural Science Retail Study sheds light on an opportunity that will drive growth for suppliers and retailers,” adds Marie Quintana, President of Tu Familia and former SVP of Multicultural Sales at PepsiCo. “As the U.S. marketplace is becoming increasingly multicultural, no one can ignore that growth will come from the multicultural population, now and in the future.”

Sponsors of Study – National Grocers Association (NGA), Nielsen Company, PepsiCo, Identity, Santiago Solutions Group, Tu Familia, Hispanic Association for Corporate Responsibility (HACR), Solid Ground, Geoscape, Inc., U.S., Isabel Valdés Consulting (IVC), and The Center for Multicultural Science.

To download Executive Summary CLICK HERE.