Effects of Identity on Hispanic Consumer Behavior.

It seems natural to want to associate with people who are very similar to us. Our social group is usually made up of people in our same age group who tend to come from the same social and economic status as us. Although the inner workings of our personalities may slightly differ, the similarities that do exist are still enough to bond us.

We often look up to these close friends and relatives for advice because we value their opinions. This holds especially true when making purchase decisions.

According to Korzenny & Korzenny, “Individuals emulate the behavior of people they admire.” Most of us would agree that this is human nature and can be expected in all cultures across the board. But, in the United States we see that this rings especially true in the Hispanic culture. Most Hispanic families emigrated from countries scattered throughout Central and South America. They came to the United States where very few spoke their language or understood their culture. Most of these Hispanics settled in urban areas where there was already a strong Hispanic community, thus proving the idea that we tend to associate with people who are very much like ourselves. We safely assume that what is good for one of us will most likely be good for another; we are after all, a lot alike.

How we choose to identify ourselves affects many areas of our lives. It affects the things we do and say, the way we dress, the circle of friends we surround ourselves with, and most importantly for marketers, it affects what we buy. The way Hispanic consumers identify themselves is very important in understanding how to reach them in the market. Will they be more influenced by Hispanic ads in English or ads in Spanish? Should successful Anglos advertise services to them or should it be someone who is Hispanic like them? These are all questions that can be answered if we know how to socially identify Hispanics. This however, is no easy task. After immigrating to the United States Hispanics have many more influences than just their family and their native country impressing upon them. This makes it increasingly difficult to know how to target Hispanics.

First and perhaps most importantly, it pays to know who Hispanics look up to for consumer advice. Vanessa Velasco says that she always takes her parents opinions into consideration when making a purchase and that she usually ends up using the same products that they used in her household when she was growing up. It is not always important to her that other Hispanics be the ones to advertise or recommend products, just as long as it is people whose opinion she values. However, it does make a difference when Vanessa sees Hispanics advertising certain products such as makeup, because she knows that the colors they are using will work with her same skin tones. It also makes a difference when she is shopping for clothes since a lot of the Latin brands fit her body better. Christina Cintron finds herself impulsively buying products that her family used to buy when they lived in Puerto Rico. Although the majority of the products she uses are American, she still drinks Maltas and will only buy Bustelo coffee. It is in little habits like these that we begin to find consumer trends. Paying attention to all of these purchasing patterns, subtle or not, can greatly help in targeting the Hispanic population.

As mentioned earlier, how we identify ourselves greatly influences the way we act and the things we buy. When Vanessa is back home in Miami and someone asks her what she is, she always responds with, “Colombian.” In Tallahassee however, where there are significantly less Hispanics she does not elaborate on her heritage, she merely answers, “Hispanic.” According to Vanessa this is because in Miami you need to be more specific about where you are from since the majority of the population is Hispanic and therefore already assumes that you have a Hispanic background. She knows that when she is back home and she tells someone that she is Colombian there will most likely be someone there that she can identify with. This label choice comes as no surprise since most people self-identify differently depending on the context of the question or the person asking. Both Christina Cintron and Noel Aguilar take the hyphenated approach when confronted with this same question. Christina describes herself as a Hispanic-American even though her family is Puerto Rican. She says, “ I know that my parents are from Puerto Rico, so it is a part of my heritage, but I was born in the United States so I consider myself more American than anything. Noel, who was born and raised in Hialeah Miami, says that he tells people he is Cuban-American. “I would die for America, but I still love and embody my Cuban culture,” he says. And this, he admits, is reflected in many of the food and music choices he makes when purchasing items.

The choices that we make are all reflective of how we view ourselves. If you view yourself as a successful business person who must always look presentable in order to impress clients, then your money will most likely be spent on well-tailored suits, sharp looking jewelry and services in order to keep yourself looking nice, such as regular visits to the salon. If you are a single mother who works solely to provide things for her family, your money will be used towards purchases for your home and children and less on the extras and pampering. So what does a Hispanic college student spend their money on? Is it different than an African-American college student? These are both examples of questions that marketers and advertisers strive to answer.

Overall we find that there are many considerations that muddy the water when trying to figure out what makes Hispanics “Hispanic.” There is no clear-cut answer and nothing is in Black and White. The only thing that is certain is that marketers will continue to have their work cut out for them if they want to increase predictability about Hispanic consumers. In their book, Hispanic Marketing: A Cultural Perspective, Korzenny and Korzenny state, “it is in the course of social interaction that we acquire a sense of self.” Christina agrees that a part of who we are is a direct result of our influences in society but that as individuals we strive to find our own place in the world. She argues that we don’t always want to be associated with the group because we want to be independent in our actions. Unfortunately, despite this urge to be independent, the reality of the situation still exists: We are a product of the society that we associate with. “It is a very concrete statement to say that we define ourselves socially, but society does project who we are to a certain extent,” Noel adds. Vanessa often finds herself hanging around other students of Hispanic heritage and most of her friends back home in Miami are Colombian. Even though she doesn’t knowingly choose her friends this way, it is natural to socially interact with people who are very much like ourselves. For obvious reasons we find it easier to relate to them and understand them and whether we want to admit it or not, all of these things affect our choices as consumers.

By Jennifer Urban
Multicultural Marketing Communication
Student
Center for Hispanic Marketing Communication
Florida State University