Hispanic Brand Loyalty Erodes During Recession

U.S. Hispanic consumers are more optimistic about their financial future than non-Latinos, but the recession is sharply eroding Hispanics’ traditional brand loyalty and fondness for advertising.

Just 31% of Hispanics surveyed this year said that “Advertisements help me decide what to buy,” a 16% drop from the number of respondents who agreed with that statement a year ago, according to a report Forrester Research is releasing today.

Only half as many non-Hispanic consumers — 15% — agreed that ads help them decide on purchases, but that figure was unchanged from a year ago. The survey of 3,004 Hispanic adults, conducted in the first quarter of 2009, also found that 61% of respondents agreed with the statement “When I find a brand I like, I stick to it,” down from 67% last year.

At the same time, Hispanics are more optimistic consumers. Asked how their personal financial situation has changed over the past 12 months, 50% of Hispanics surveyed said their finances have worsened, 34% said they’re about the same, and 15% said they’ve improved. Non-Hispanic consumers’ responses were about the same.

But asked what they expect will happen to their finances in the next 12 months, 44% of Hispanics said they expect their personal financial situation to improve, compared to just 20% of non-Hispanics. And just 21% of Hispanics thought their finances would worsen, while 35% of non-Hispanics expected a downturn.

The lessons for marketers are that Hispanics may not be as swayed by advertising and brand loyalty as in better economic times, but may be more open to value-based advertising and switching to less expensive brands.

Source: http://adage.com/hispanic/article?article_id=138016

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