Hispanic Shopper Insights from Kroger, Walmart, Northgate and the HR360 Cultural Immersion [INSIGHT]

By Lili Gil Valletta, Co-Founder XL Alliance & Media Contributor

The Hispanic Retail 360 (HR360) Summit, presented by Pepsico, is  the only industry event with the power to congregate an impressive group of over 500 executives in retail, consumer products and marketing across the nation to address America’s most prolific shopper segment, Hispanics. Inspire by San Antonio’s rich Spanish and Mexican culture, where Hispanics make up 63% of the population, this year’s event made history with record breaking attendance, active digital engagement and a line-up of speakers that are reshaping the conversation.

“No existing conference addresses the issues retailers face providing the strategies to offer the right product mix and solutions to Hispanic shoppers” said Don Longo, Editorial Director Stagnito Media, Hispanic Retail 360 Magazine.

You may read the statistics in the comfort of your office or try to get a winning insight from a report or a focus group, but nothing beats seeing the market in person. This is why the HR360 offers what no other conference provides, a cultural immersion tour. Sponsored by GOYA, and guided by XL’s co-founders and partners Armando Martin, Manny Fields and Enrique Arbelaez, the tour offered executives the unique opportunity to visit stores in San Antonio to see  and experience Hispanic insights in action. The tour visited stores like Walmart, Goodwill, HEB Plus and included an authentic lunch at El Mercado where Mexican culture, music and food enchant the streets.

As reported by a study published by the Path to Purchase Institute on the Hispanic Shopper, Hispanic shoppers make decisions as a collective unit, shop in large and multigenerational groups and have great affinity to the mass stores as a one-stop-shop destination. Latinos tend to hit the aisles as a family unit. According to the ‘NVista Shopper Tracking surveys, 61% of Hispanics shop with someone – a child or another adult. Only 38% of the general population shops that way. This particular insight left attendees in awe when this behavior came to life at HEB Plus, where on a Wednesday at 2:30pm, large Hispanic family groups were found shopping for everything from fresh produce to Tejano music, school supplies, furniture, car insurance and piñatas all in one place. HEB plus took family matters and one-stop-shopping to a whole new level.

Goodwill stores surprised attendees with its impressive vision serving veterans and minorities with resources for success. While most think of the store as the place to re-sell hand-me-downs, Goodwill’s vision is deeply rooted in its priority to empower and equip minority communities with training and opportunities in the service, hospitality and various tech industries. Their training center offers brands a viable pipeline of talent and unique platforms for relevant community outreach.

An afternoon of learning was capped with a never-seen-before ensemble of retail visionaries all on the same stage and panel at the same time. Kroger’s Angel Colón, Walmart’s Javier Delgado and Tom Herman from Northgate Gonzalez Market, left their competitive spirit aside to open up their minds and books speaking as one to looking for winning insights to reach Hispanics. Each panelist has been a pioneer in the industry driving forward the multicultural agenda for multibillion dollar enterprises, giving them the stripes and experience to go beyond theory on the subject.

As Delgado described it, it is ultimately all about serving your customer what they need no matter the race or ethnicity…it just happens to be that Hispanics represent a big portion of that shopper base and the greatest source for growth for key categories. The category growth discussion has been crucial at Walmart to drive engagement of all decision makers across an organization that today demands multicultural expertise of everyone across functions. Colón described the importance of patience and persistence to drive organizational change from within. Under his leadership, Kroger has transformed its thinking, aligning multicultural as a key organizational priority and driver for growth across divisions. Colón has launched national programs that range from Hispanic focused to Asian and Kosher; all inspired by ethnic insights but broad enough to generate mass appeal. Other total market innovations at Kroger include the bilingual “retailtainment” publication Saluda La Vida, executed under the leadership of Food4Less’ Eddie Vasquez and Kroger’s shopper and creative agency XL. The publication and its online platforms have redefined the traditional store circular model and reach a distribution than surpasses many major Spanish language magazines in the country.

Tom Herman of Northgate, impressed the audience with his insights and market understading; demonstrating that to be excellent at leading Hispanic strategy you don’t have to be “Hispanic” per se. He emphasized how ethnic food no longer belongs to the “ethnic isle” but is part of the shopping mainstream of a new consumer who experiments with culture through food. Northgate has gained tremendous growth and traction by attracting second-generation Latinos and non-Hispanic foodies who are open to explore and experiment new foods. For example, Northgate’s “Tamale Cooking Class” has quickly become a hit attracting a broad range of shoppers who simply want to connect with Mexican cooking. The classes are promoted organically in-store and via social media.

Here is a quick summary of the main take-away’s:

1.    Consider a team cultural immersion to bring Hispanic insights to life and more tangible application
2.    Multicultural expertise ought to become a core competency of the entire organization, not just be treated as the “special program.” Ultimately is about service to the customer, and America’s customers are reshaping into a more diverse group more quickly
3.    To succeed in multicultural, it must be directly aligned and recognized as a top organizational priority to gain the proper championship and business attention
4.    Total market is about leading with ethnic insights, not about a generic execution that applies to all. If Hispanics, and minorities at large, are shaping the trends then retail and marketing tactics must begin with that thinking and insight in mind
5.    Hispanic and ethnic food/ merchandising is a mass trend not to be minimized to the “ethic or international isle.”

The HR360 events continued for three- days of provoking case studies and practical learning. Breaking away from the typical Hispanic presentations where the 53 million strong and $1 Trillion in buying power stats are rehashed, the summit left hundreds inspired and equipped with new contacts, case studies and inspiration to go back and continue to transform their organization.  Now is time to get to work and 2015 planning with a lens on the fastest growing minority group in the country!

Lili Gil Valletta is an award-winning entrepreneur, media contributor and cofounder of XL Alliance, a multicultural consulting and marketing firm specialized in turning cultural trends into profits. She is also a Young Global Leader of the World Economic Forum and board member of the Harvard Women’s Leadership Board. You can follow Lili on twitter @liligil and visit her channel at Youtube.com/liligil.

 

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