US Hispanics: Opportunities and challenges of a market in full development.

Without a doubt, a great deal of the focus of the SES event currently taking place in New York is on the Hispanic market. And with good reason: Hispanics in the United States are increasingly connected, perform more and more searches and shop more on the web.

According to a recent study conducted by Google, 8% of searches performed from Google.com US are in Spanish. And there is a trend, without a doubt, towards the expansion of this market: according to the US Census Bureau, in 2050 1 out of 3 Americans will be of Hispanic origin. 

The way in which the public is distributed around the world is changing. I invite you to perform a little challenge. Let’s say you want to conduct an online campaign to promote a Hispanic news web site:  where will you put the ads? Probably, many people would think it logical to advertise on search engines from Spain and Latin America. But, what would you think if I told you that 80% of daily searches in Spanish are conducted from an English interface, and only 20% from a Hispanic one? This data, obtained by Google, shows that the strategies marketers use to reach their audiences have to be adapted to a global context that is undergoing profound changes. 

Someone may wonder how this data is translated into commercial terms. The answer is that it has already been translated: Hispanic residents in the United States are using the web more and more to make decisions on the purchase of high value products and services. If we take as an example the search term “Carros Usados,” we find out there is an increase of 13% year after year. The increment in other search terms, such as “Seguros de Auto,” is even stronger; it shows a 426% growth between January 2006 and June 2010. The information collected through search engines is demonstrating a significant impact on the decisions consumers make, even in their offline activities. According to a recent study conducted by Google, 46% of US Hispanics visited a retailer due to the information obtained on an online search, 43% bought something from a store, and 36% recommended a brand, product or service to another user.

And as time passes, even more components are making the Hispanic public an extremely attractive audience to contact through the web. One of the factors gaining greater incidence is mobility: Currently, 24% of iPhone users in the United States are Hispanics who use their smart phones to compare prices or to find stores to make purchases. 

We are talking about a trend that is growing strongly: Hispanics in the United States use the Web to become informed on products and services, to make purchasing decisions and to perform online transactions. This is a market sector with increasing volume and purchasing power. But it also poses countless challenges. The main one, without doubt, is to generate online marketing strategies that make the most of the opportunities offered by its potential, and which will translate its growth into commercial results. The tools are out there, the consumers are out there, the companies only have to aim correctly at this sector to achieve their goals.

By Mark Lopez, Head of the US Hispanic Audience, Google