• by Aaron Baar , March 17, 2017

CPG marketers may want to rethink the way they target Hispanic consumers. According to a new report from ThinkNow Research, less acculturated Hispanics — those that have not fully assimilated into American culture —  are no more brand loyal than other segments. In fact, Bicultural Hispanics — those who are generally first- or second-generation Americans who identify with both the U.S. culture and their Hispanic heritage — are considered more loyal across several CPG categories. 

While brand loyalty is similar across all consumers for common household categories (with white non-Hispanics showing the most overall loyalty), almost 40% of bicultural Hispanics said they would go to another store or make a return trip if the brand they typically buy is not available at their regular retail outlet. Conversely, only 35% of “less acculturated” Hispanics said the same.

“There has always been an old wisdom that less acculturated Hispanics who are more brand loyal than any other group,” Mario Carrasco, co-founder and managing partner of ThinkNow, tells Marketing Daily. “The big takeaway from this research is that is not the case.”

Indeed, loyalty among bicultural Hispanics goes even deeper, with nearly a quarter of them (25%) saying they would go to another store to purchase their favored brand. Only 18% of less acculturated Hispanics said the same. Carrasco speculates some of the increased loyalty among bicultural Hispanics may have to do with their station in life. 

“A lot of Hispanic [demographic] growth is coming from bicultural Millennials,” which is a stage in which many people begin setting their lifelong brand affinities, he says. 

In light of these insights, CPG marketers may want to look at tweaking their strategies when it comes to reaching Hispanic consumers, Carrasco says. “A lot of marketers coming into the space take [targeting less acculturated Hispanics] as wisdom,” he says. “Bicultural Hispanics provide a big opportunity. The fact that they make up the largest [Hispanic] segment is huge.”