As the U.S. Latino Economy Grows, Businesses Must Meet the Needs of Their Evolving Customer Base

The report by the Latino Donor Collective (LDC) unveiled the significant influence of the U.S. Latino cohort in the country’s economy in several capacities, including as consumers, producers and business leaders. The report, titled the U.S. Latino GPD Report: The Role of the U.S. Latino Community in the U.S. Economy, highlights that “the U.S. Latino economy has grown two and a half times faster than the non-Latino equivalent.” The LDC study found that if Latinos were an independent country, their GDP would rank fifth in the world, ahead of some of the world’s largest economies including the United Kingdom, France and India. Additionally, according to a 2022 report by the U.S. Census Bureau, the Hispanic population is the largest minority group in the United States, with Spanish as the most common non-English language spoken in U.S. homes in 2019. Latinos’ purchasing power in the United States further solidifies the Hispanic population’s contributions to the U.S. economy, which reached $3.4 trillion in 2021.

These findings not only underscore the significant contributions that U.S. Latinos are making to the country’s GDP, but also that as Latinos’ share in the U.S. population increases so does their participation in the labor force, increasing their overall productivity and impact. As the non-Latino population ages and retires, younger Latinos are stepping into the labor market, significantly contributing tax revenue and boosting spending.

Keeping up with the Latino consumer market is essential for businesses looking to blossom in today’s diverse economy. Given the Latino population’s economic influence, businesses must stay ahead of substantial changes to their regular consumer base and take proactive steps towards meeting their needs. To effectively engage with Latino consumers and stay relevant, businesses should consider the following strategies:

1. Be authentic. Build trust with Latino consumers by avoiding stereotypes and genuinely embracing cultural elements regularly and when relevant to your business. Don’t just market to Latinos during Hispanic Heritage Month or Cinco de Mayo. Year-round activations build credibility and will also help you gather valuable insights on how this group interacts with your business, so you can best strategize future engagements.
2. Produce bilingual content. Share information in both English and Spanish to make your business more accessible to Latino consumers. Do not simply translate your English content to Spanish, ensure you are creating content in Spanish that has proper cultural context so that it comes across as authentic and intentional, not just as an afterthought.
3. Prioritize Hispanic media outlets in your U.S. media strategy. Don’t wait to reach out to Hispanic outlets only when you want to reach Latino audiences. These outlets constantly cover news pieces that impact all consumers, so make sure you consider the outlets in regular media activities, and that you build strong relationships with reporters. Latinos will be more likely to know your brand and interact with it if you make efforts outside of designated calendar moments or moments of crisis.
4. Engage with Latino communities. Build a positive presence with Latino communities through partnerships, sponsorships and community events to establish trust, brand loyalty and increase employee engagement. Make sure to include this community in your corporate responsibility and impact efforts, actively recruit and empower Latino talent, and find the areas of synergy between your business and the needs of the community.
5. Establish feedback mechanisms to improve your offerings. Encourage feedback from Latino consumers and employees and be responsive to their suggestions. Make a point to include members of the community in efforts focused on the Latino population to ensure authenticity, impact, and success.

Keeping up with the Latino consumer market requires that businesses take proactive steps towards inclusivity and diversity authentically. By understanding and respecting unique characteristics of this demographic, businesses can tap into a growing and influential consumer base that, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, is estimated to reach 111 million by 2060.

*The terms Latino and Hispanic are used interchangeably in the blog.