2005 Hispanic Opinion Tracker.

People en Español releases their findings from the fourth wave of its comprehensive research study-the Hispanic Opinion Tracker (HOT).

The magazine interviewed, via telephone, a total of 8,000 consumers (6,000 Hispanics and 2,000 of the general population, for comparison) and asked 23 extensive acculturation questions to better understand the segmentation of the marketplace-Hispanic Dominant (56%), Bicultural (23%) and U.S. Dominant (21%). The results provide an all-inclusive look into Hispanic consumer behaviors by acculturation and bring an end to the most talked about debate in the marketplace-the language factor.

“As leaders in the marketplace, our goal is to constantly refine the lens in Hispanic market research to better serve the advertising and marketing communities,” says Jackie Hernández-Fallous, Publisher of People en Español. “The results from HOT 2005 undeniably report that Spanish-language is very much alive among US Hispanics.”

” 75% of all Hispanics feel loyalty to retailers who advertise to them in Spanish.
” 65% of all Hispanics say that Spanish language is more important to them than it was just five years ago.
” US Dominant Hispanics (21% of the overall Hispanic marketplace) are consuming more Spanish language media than they did three years ago.

For the first time-ever, the HOT study took a deeper dive into category specific consumer behaviors highlighting top advertising industries including beauty, retail, fashion, automotive, food and health.
The goal was to measure (and compare to the general population) Hispanic consumer’s attitudes, opinions and habits toward brands, shopping and purchasing decisions. Key findings include:

Hispanics are Purchasing at a Higher Rate than the General Population (GenPop):

” Hispanics are spending almost twice as much as the GenPop on clothing and accessories.
” Hispanics are over-indexing on usage of beauty products (hair, makeup and skincare).
” Hispanics are 14% more likely to purchase a new car within the next two years than the GenPop.
” 26% of Hispanics plan on buying a new home within the next 12 months vs. 9% of the GenPop.

Hispanics Have a Passion for Shopping, Sampling & Special Advertising Units:

” Wal-Mart, JC Penney and Sears ranked the top three stores for Hispanics to shop, with Wal-Mart leading the marketplace at 37%.
” 56% of Hispanics love to shop vs. 39% of the GenPop.
” 58% of Hispanics have purchased a retail product after receiving free samples vs. 44% of the GenPop.
” 55% of Hispanics have purchased a perfume after smelling a scent strip vs. 27% of the GenPop.

Hispanics See Celebrities as Key Influencers:

” Jennifer Lopez, Thalia, Salma Hayek & Paulina Rubio ranked the top four Hispanic female celebrities who influence Hispanic women’s fashion and style.
” 36% of Hispanic women have purchased fashion-related items, as seen on celebrities vs. 13% of the GenPop.

Hispanics are Viewing Health Issues More Seriously than Ever:

” Heart disease, children’s health/diet and diabetes are the top three health concerns for Hispanics.
” 73% of Hispanics always read the fine print in a magazine and/or newspaper pharmaceutical ad vs. 44% of the GenPop.
” 44% of Hispanics always use ingredients that are low in fat and cholesterol when preparing meals vs. 20% of the GenPop.