Study: Latina Shoppers Make The Decisions
NEW YORK - The first-of-its kind 2010 Latina Shopper Study by Redbean Society and New American Dimensions reveals that 80% of Latinas say they prepare a shopping list but only half include specific products or brands in their list. For the most part, these women make a general list of items needed such as coffee, cereal or yogurt, than a specific list of brands they want to buy, like Folger’s, Honey Bunches of Oats or Dannon, for example .
However, this could vary by product category. In-store brand decisions are made more often for clothing than for personal care. Impulse buying occurs often, particularly for groceries and among the more acculturated, however close to 70% of non-acculturated Latinas buy things at the store that they didn’t plan to buy. Comparison shopping is also quite common, where over half of Latina women visit a variety of stores, 30% do online research and a whopping 70% frequently compare prices from store to store before they buy.
Likewise, the study indicates that 80% of Latina female shoppers buy food or beverage store brands, despite the majority’s belief that the quality of many private labels may not match that of national brands. Contrary to popular thought, this suggests that Latinas may be willing to sacrifice premium quality for lower process, but only as long as the product meets their individual threshold for acceptable quality.
Implications for marketers abound. Strategically-driven, relevant shopper-marketing targeting Latina shoppers must be a major component of their marketing mix to ensure brand choice at the store level. Likewise, brand value perception among this target is more important than ever. About half of all Latina women and 60% of the less acculturated, say the state of the economy had a substantial effect on their shopping habits.
The 2010 Latina Shopper Study was conducted among a nationally representative sample of 1,200 women between the ages of 18-49 via telephone interviews and in-store intercepts combined.
