Univision’s Ceppi: It’s time to tap into power of Hispanic consumer

PHILADELPHIA — For marketers of OTC products, the time to incorporate the Hispanic shopper into your marketing plans is now. It’s urgent to reach these shoppers, but not just because the Hispanic demographic, as a group, represents $5.9 billion in the sale of non-prescription products (12% of the total U.S. spend), nor is it just because sales of OTC products among Hispanic consumers is up more than 8% versus more than 5% among non-Hispanic companies.

The time is now because there is a significant messaging vacuum that specifically targets Hispanic audiences, according to Ana Ceppi, VP business development for Univision Communications, who spoke at the 8th Annual Emerson Group Retail Industry Day.

“If year over year you’re seeing declines in your share and you’re not addressing the Hispanic market, … you might not have a business within two years if you are not growing with Hispanics,” she said. “The Hispanic opportunity is not an ‘if.’ You saw the numbers; it’s a ‘when.’”

Some of the bigger growth opportunities within OTC include cough, cold and flu, a category that saw a 14% lift in sales among Hispanic consumers for the 52 weeks ended Aug. 8, according to Nielsen, versus a 9% lift in sales among non-Hispanic consumers. Similarly, allergy remedies saw a 13% lift in sales among Hispanics versus 9% among non-Hispanics and family planning realized 9% growth among Hispanics versus 3% among non-Hispanics.

And even as Hispanic shoppers, especially younger Hispanics, have embraced the American culture, they still embrace speaking Spanish at home. Citing IHS Economics, more than 70% of Hispanic consumers will continue to speak Spanish at home well into the future. By 2019, 41.5 million Hispanics will speak Spanish at home. By 2034, 55.4 million Hispanics will speak Spanish at home.

“It’s not surprising that Hispanic families have multi-generational households,” Ceppi said. “When we go shopping, we go shopping for multiple generations at the same time,” she added, noting that the average number of people living in a Hispanic household is 3.4 versus 2.4 in an average non-Hispanic household. “The familia that lives together — we shop together,” Ceppi added. For health and beauty products, Hispanic shoppers buy 2.8 items per trip versus 2.5 for non-Hispanics, make 29 trips per buyer versus 27.8 for non-Hispanics and spend $14.60 per trip versus $14 for non-Hispanics.

Even though sales of OTC medicines are up among Hispanic shoppers and the growth track is significant, there aren’t many health retailers or health marketers who are successfully connecting to the Hispanic community today, according tp Ceppi. “There aren’t many pharmacies that are really talking to them,” Ceppi said. “There aren’t really many healthcare institutions; Rx and OTC traditionally has not invested in the market, so [Hispanics] go back to their place of comfort, which is their place of origin,” she said.

“We are vibrant; we are vital; we are valuable. We are waiting for you to talk to us,” Ceppi said.