COMMENTARY

Is Your Marketing Leveraging The Changing Hispanic Demographic?

• by Karla Fernandez Parker , Columnist, 8 hours ago

Since we are celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month, there are a few standouts about this changing demographic marketers need to note.

The first key takeaway from the 2020 Census shows Hispanics are having a baby boom. There were 9.3 million Hispanic babies born in the U.S. from 2010 to 2019. On top of that, there was a significant decline in immigration, contrary to popular belief. Net immigration from Hispanics was only about one-third of the number of births at 3.5 million people during the same period.

So, if you’re in the business of children’s shoes and clothes, children’s household items, toys, sporting goods, and food, you should be fully invested in this growing segment. Colleges and cars will be next!

The mention of college brings up another key statistic from the census results. The share of Hispanics with at least some college education has increased from 36% in 2010 to about 42% in 2019, up more than 16%. Hispanic women had a slightly higher rate of some college versus Hispanic men.

Another positive was that the number of Hispanics with bachelor’s  or post-graduate degrees rose as well, from 13% to 18%. The number of Hispanics enrolled in college has also increased, from 2.9 million to 3.6 million over the past decade.

College education, not to mention college degrees, typically leads to an increase in income. This sets up opportunities for marketers of banks, loan products, auto purchases and entertainment/leisure consumption.

The census also revealed a dramatic increase in English proficiency among Hispanics. This is being driven by the first statistic — significantly lower immigration and an increase in U.S.-born Hispanics. English proficiency among Hispanics over five years old has increased from 59% in 2000 to 72% in 2019, according to the Pew Research Center.  While there is a significant number of Hispanics who still speak Spanish at home, the trend continues a trajectory to greater English proficiency, especially among U.S.-born Hispanics.

Marketers should be mindful of language preferences in parts of the U.S. and the role Spanish still plays as many Hispanics move seamlessly between English and Spanish. This is also important when marketing to older Hispanics who are more likely to be immigrants. 

These findings point to a boon for marketers who can connect culturally with the right media mix and spend to capture this changing demographic that is becoming increasingly more powerful to the U.S. economy and its growth.