The Growing Hispanic Market in the United States

The Growing Hispanic Market in the United States
Strictly Spanish LLC, Cincinnati, OH

Hispanics have become the largest minority in the United States. There are areas in the U.S. where Spanish is the predominant language—you might not even be understood if you speak English. You encounter this in sections of Texas, California, Florida, New Mexico, New Jersey, New York, and Illinois, to name a few. The Hispanic population is now over 40 million and it is increasing rapidly. This represents about 14 percent of the total population of the United States. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, this percentage will double by the year 2050. It is also projected that the Hispanic purchasing power will top $1 trillion in 2007.

Virtually every type of company and organization in the United States is being impacted by the growth of the Hispanic population. You see it in government, healthcare, manufacturing, food service, construction, education, finance, legal, and these are just a few examples. Marketing and selling to the U.S. Hispanics has become so important that universities are offering programs on the subject. Florida State University has recently created a center for Hispanic marketing communications offering graduate certificates and undergraduate minor programs.

Speaking Spanish in the United States is here to stay and growing. This is obvious to anyone living anywhere in this country. All Americans encounter Spanish-speaking people in their daily lives— whether shopping, going out to a restaurant, at the doctor’s office, or at their place of employment. A study recently released by Hispanic U.S.A., Inc. called “The Future Use of the Spanish Language in the USA” says that the number of Spanish-dominant and bilingual Hispanics will increase by 45 percent over the next 20 years.

What does all this mean to U.S. businesses? The answer is obvious—Spanish translations of important materials! It's quite prevalent to see Español buttons on websites so a Spanish speaker can click on it and be re-directed the Spanish version of the site. Companies know that they can increase their profits and market share by communicating their message in Spanish, whether online or with published materials. It is also becoming very common for U.S. companies to have their employee manuals, benefit forms, and training materials in Spanish. Spanish speakers are becoming a very significant part of the workforce and they need to be trained properly, in their native language.

Following are some facts for consideration:

U.S. Hispanic purchasing power has surged to nearly $700 billion and is projected to reach as much as $1 trillion by 2007, nearly three times the overall national rate over the past decade. (Source: HispanTelligence^®.)
The top areas where Hispanics spend more than non-Hispanics are: groceries, telephone services, furniture, men’s and boys apparel, children’s clothing and footwear. (Source: Selig Center.)
The U.S. Hispanic market ranks as the third largest “Latin American economy” behind Brazil and Mexico.
In 2002, there were 37.4 million Hispanics in the civilian, non-institutional population of the United States, representing 13.3 percent of the total U.S. population. Among the Hispanic population, two thirds (66.9 percent) were of Mexican decent, 14.3 percent were Central and South American, 8.6 percent were Puerto Rican, 3.7 percent were Cuban and the remaining 6.5 percent were of other Hispanic origins. (Source: US Census Bureau, June 2003.)
There are more Hispanics living in the United States, than the entire population of Canada, which is 32.5 million. (Source: U.S. Census.) We are like a country within a country.
Hispanic advertising by U.S. companies grew 24 percent in 2003, compared with 8.6 percent for the general market. (Source: Media Economics Group, research firm that tracks Spanish-language marketing.)
By mid-century, 25 percent or one out of every four people in the United States will be Hispanic. The African American population by mid-century will remain at the current rate of 13 percent of the total United States population. (Source: U.S. Census Bureau.)
An IRS report predicts that 1 out of every 10 small businesses will be Hispanic by the year 2007. Today the proportion stands at 1 in 13 and rising. (Source: Hispanic Trends.)

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