How Hispanic Families divide up Shopping Responsibilities.

By Insight Tr3s

Mother’s Day is this Sunday, and for a second week we are taking a closer look at Hispanic Moms. As part of its 2012 research study, “Hispanic 18-34s Living the ‘Next Normal,” Tr3s talked to Latino families to find out more about what their lives are like.

In last week’s blog, we focused on “The Two Hispanic Moms.” The first, younger mom is The Fortress Keeper, whose number one priority is to protect her small children. (We should note that young dads can be Fortress Keepers as well!) The second mom we profiled is The Concierge, who is typically ages 35 to 54 and has an adult Millennial child still living at home. She fulfills the stated and unstated needs of everyone in her large, multigenerational home.

Fortress Keepers, Concierges, and Hispanic adult Millennials living with their parents all have different purchasing habits to fulfill the needs of their households. Here are some of Tr3s’s findings about how they’re shopping today:

The Fortress Keeper

Fortress Keeper parents (moms and dads) share responsibility for all types of shopping. More than 9 out of 10 young Hispanic parents do all types of shopping: grocery, mass merchandiser, convenience, drugstore, club, home electronics, mobile, and online (primarily Amazon.com).

Shopping is less of a family event for Fortress Keepers because it gives them greater control over what is available to their children. Unlike foreign-born Hispanic parents in their thirties, bicultural parents 18 to 29 are less likely to take their kids shopping with them. This way, they can determine what their children have access to more easily.

The Concierge

The Concierge does most of the everyday grocery shopping and knows the preferences of everyone in her multigenerational household. While she buys most of the food, her choices are influenced by all in the family — and making everyone happy is her main goal. She makes an effort to balance healthy and fun foods. Dad might tag along on her shopping missions, but he’s not as involved in the decision-making.

Mass merchandiser, drugstore, and club shopping are also dominated by The Concierge – but to a lesser degree than grocery shopping. While these are mostly done by The Concierge, trips to club stores (like Costco and Sam’s Club) and mass merchandisers (like Walmart, Target, and Kmart) can sometimes be family events.

Millennials Living at Home

Hispanic Adult Millennials living with their “Concierge” moms do more of the convenience shopping. While The Concierge tackles the major shopping trips, her adult children in the household are more often responsible for picking up convenience items.

Shopping online (primarily on Amazon), at home electronics stores, and for mobile technology for the family are the Millennial’s domain. “Concierge” moms sometimes participate in these types of shopping, and shopping for mobile devices and home electronics are occasionally family events.

Source: Tr3s 2012 “Hispanic 18-34s Living the ‘Next Normal’”